The UB bestows an honorary doctorate to Nobel laureate Fraser Stoddart

Fraser Stoddart was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2016 —together with Professors Jean-Pierre Sauvage of the University of Strasbourg (France) and Bernard Feringa of the State University of Groningen (The Netherlands)— for their pioneering work in the design, synthesis and characterisation of molecular machines. Stoddart has worked in the field of supramolecular chemistry of non-covalent bonds, i.e. the chemistry in which molecules are constructed by non-conventional synthetic methods. In particular, one of his major contributions to science has been the concept of mechanical bond, a new type of chemical bonding that makes it possible to obtain highly complex molecules that could not be obtained with more standardised synthetic methods.

Non-covalent interactions are predominant in most chemical interactions, especially in the world of biology. In the human organism, for example, many molecules act as "molecular motors" —as in cell membranes— and it is thanks to them that the organism and the cells function. By taking nature as a source of inspiration and using non-covalent bonds, molecules can be built that would not be possible with conventional methods. To do this, the process of self-assembly is used: the molecules themselves spontaneously recognise and organise themselves to form other functional molecules. Self-assembly is one of the most important processes in supramolecular chemistry.

Miniature machines and molecular switches

Stoddart uses these processes of molecular recognition and self-assembly to build "mechanically interlocked" molecules by means of non-covalent bonds. The utility of these molecules is that they can behave like molecular switches: they switch from state A to state B via an external stimulus (light, electrons, change in acidity of the medium, etc.), similar to a binary system, such as a computer. This extraordinary breakthrough means that, under certain circumstances, these molecules could even behave like an organic computer.

The applications of this nanotechnology research are manifold, and Stoddard has worked on the controlled drug delivery using nanotechnology, which allows them to be delivered to the right place at the right time within an organism, as well as with "artificial molecular machines". In other words, when properly designed and stimulated, these molecular switches can perform a specific physiological function, which can have important consequences in the fields of both energy and biology.

Fraser Stoddart has maintained a frequent relationship with the UB. He was, for example, the mentor of Professor María Luisa Pérez García, professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Chemistry of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, when carrying out a postdoctoral stay at the University of Birmingham in 1992-1994. As a result of this period, more than a dozen high-quality scientific articles were published and a line of research in supramolecular chemistry began to be promoted in the UB Faculty of Pharmacy. The collaboration has continued over the years, driven by the presentation of doctoral theses in the field of the synthesis of mechanically intertwined molecules, the exchange of students between laboratories and joint projects.

During his career, Stoddart has published more than 1,400 scientific articles, accumulating some 109,000 citations, and has supervised more than 480 researchers, of which approximately 115 were research trainees.
 

Fraser Stoddart (1942, Edinburgh, Scotland) studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he obtained his PhD in 1966. He has worked at the Universities of Queens (Canada), Sheffield, Birmingham and Edinburgh (UK), and at the Universities of California and Northwestern (USA).