Sharpless was born April 28, 1941, inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] His childhood was filled with summers at his family cottage on theManasquan River inNew Jersey. This is where Sharpless developed a love for fishing that he would continue throughout his life, spending summers in college working on fishing boats.[4] He graduated fromFriends' Central School in 1959,[5] and continued his studies atDartmouth College, earning anA.B. degree in 1963. Sharpless originally planned to attend medical school after his undergraduate degree, but his research professor convinced him to continue his education in chemistry.[6] He earned hisPh.D. in organic chemistry fromStanford University in 1968 underEugene van Tamelen.[7] He continued post-doctoral work at Stanford University (1968–1969) withJames P. Collman, working onorganometallic chemistry. Sharpless then moved toHarvard University (1969–1970), studying enzymology inKonrad E. Bloch's lab.[6]
Sharpless developed stereoselective oxidation reactions, and showed that the formation of an inhibitor with femtomolar potency can be catalyzed by the enzymeacetylcholinesterase, beginning with an azide and an alkyne. He discovered several chemical reactions which have transformed asymmetric synthesis from science fiction to the relatively routine, including aminohydroxylation, dihydroxylation, and the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation.[10]
Sharpless is a two-time Nobel laureate. He is a recipient of the 2001 and 2022Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on "chirally catalysed oxidation reactions", and "click chemistry", respectively.[1][2]
He was awarded the 2001Wolf Prize in Chemistry together withHenri B. Kagan andRyoji Noyori “for their pioneering, creative and crucial work in developing asymmetric catalysis for the synthesis of chiral molecules, greatly increasing humankind's ability to create new products of fundamental and practical importance”.
Sharpless married Jan Dueser in 1965 and they have three children.[10] He was blinded in one eye during a lab accident in 1970 where anNMR tube exploded, shortly after he arrived at MIT as an assistant professor. After this accident, Sharpless stresses "there's simply never an adequate excuse for not wearing safety glasses in the laboratoryat all times."[15]
^Sharpless, Karl Barry (1968).Studies of the mechanism of action of 2,3-oxidosqualene-lanosterol cyclase: featuring enzymic cyclization of modified squalene oxides (Ph.D.).Stanford University.OCLC66229398.ProQuest302369766.
^Evans, Richard A. (2007). "The Rise of Azide–Alkyne 1,3-Dipolar 'Click' Cycloaddition and its Application to Polymer Science and Surface Modification".Australian Journal of Chemistry.60 (6): 384.doi:10.1071/CH06457.ISSN0004-9425.
