Nobel Prize in Chemistry — The Science Behind the Prize

Each year, the Nobel Prizes shine a spotlight on discoveries and ideas that have reshaped how we understand the world and ourselves. Rooted in Alfred Nobel’s vision of rewarding contributions “for the greatest benefit to humankind,” the prizes recognize milestones that often began as bold questions, painstaking experiments, or courageous stands. Beyond honoring individual brilliance, they tell a larger story of human progress—how curiosity, creativity, and determination can transform lives, opening new possibilities for health, understanding, and peace.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal–organic frameworks. 

At MDPI, we are proud to have been entrusted over the years with the distribution of works by more than 40 Nobel laureates. Omar M. Yaghi (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, USA) has published research in the MDPI journal Molecules, together with two colleagues from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Article published with MDPI
Authors: Christian S. Diercks, Markus J. Kalmutzki and Omar M. Yaghi
Covalent Organic Frameworks—Organic Chemistry Beyond the Molecule
Molecules 2017, 22(9), 1575.

“Stress-Induced Proteasome Sub-Cellular Translocation in Cardiomyocytes Causes Altered Intracellular Calcium Handling and Arrhythmias”
by Shunit Neeman-Egozi, Ido Livneh, Irit Dolgopyat, Udi Nussinovitch, Helena Milman, Nadav Cohen, Binyamin Eisen, Aaron Ciechanover and Ofer Binah
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4932; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25094932

“Tryptophanyl-Transfer RNA Synthetase Is Involved in a Negative Feedback Loop Mitigating Interferon-γ-Induced Gene Expression”
by Ikrame Lazar, Ido Livneh, Aaron Ciechanover and Bertrand Fabre
Cells 2024, 13(2), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13020180

“Ubiquitin Proteasome System Role in Diabetes-Induced Cardiomyopathy”
by Ortal Nahum-Ankonina, Efrat Kurtzwald-Josefson, Aaron Ciechanover, Maayan Waldman, Orna Shwartz-Rohaker, Edith Hochhauser, Sam J. Meyer, Dan Aravot, Moshe Phillip and Yaron D. Barac
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(20), 15376; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242015376

“Systematic Exploration of Functional Group Relevance for Anti-Leishmanial Activity of Anisomycin”
by Anh Minh Thao Nguyen, Moran Shalev-Benami, Chloé Rosa-Teijeiro, Ana Victoria Ibarra-Meneses, Ada Yonath, Anat Bashan, Charles L. Jaffe, Martin Olivier, Christopher Fernandez-Prada and William D. Lubell
Biomedicines 2023, 11(9), 2541; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11092541

“Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy of the G Protein-Coupled Receptor A_2AAR in Lipid Nanodiscs”
by Canyong Guo, Lingyun Yang, Zhijun Liu, Dongsheng Liu and Kurt Wüthrich
Molecules 2023, 28(14), 5419; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28145419

“Light-Control over Casein Kinase 1δ Activity with Photopharmacology: A Clear Case for Arylazopyrazole-Based Inhibitors”
by Albert M. Schulte, Dušan Kolarski, Vidya Sundaram, Ashutosh Srivastava, Florence Tama, Ben L. Feringa and Wiktor Szymanski
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(10), 5326; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23105326

“G Protein-coupled Receptor (GPCR) Reconstitution and Labeling for Solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Studies of the Structural Basis of Transmembrane Signaling”
by Haoyi Ge, Huixia Wang, Benxun Pan, Dandan Feng, Canyong Guo, Lingyun Yang, Dongsheng Liu and Kurt Wüthrich
Molecules 2022, 27(9), 2658; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27092658

“Aerosol-Mediated Non-Viral Lung Gene Therapy: The Potential of Aminoglycoside-Based Cationic Liposomes”
by Tony Le Gall, Mathieu Berchel, Lee Davies, Angélique Mottais, Rosy Ghanem, Alain Fautrel, Deborah Gill, Steve Hyde, Pierre Lehn, Jean-Marie Lehn et al.
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14010025

“Tumor Immunotherapy Using A_2A Adenosine Receptor Antagonists”
by Jinfeng Zhang, Wenzhong Yan, Wenwen Duan, Kurt Wüthrich and Jianjun Cheng
Pharmaceuticals 2020, 13(9), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph13090237

“Recent Advancements in Stereoselective Olefin Metathesis Using Ruthenium Catalysts”
by T. Patrick Montgomery, Adam M. Johns and Robert H. Grubbs
Catalysts 2017, 7(3), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7030087

“Protection of the Furin Cleavage Site in Low-Toxicity Immunotoxins Based on Pseudomonas Exotoxin A”
by Gilad Kaplan, Fred Lee, Masanori Onda, Emily Kolyvas, Gaurav Bhardwaj, David Baker and Ira Pastan
Toxins 2016, 8(8), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins8080217

“Advanced Electrodes for High Power Li-ion Batteries”
by Karim Zaghib, Alain Mauger, Henri Groult, John B. Goodenough and Christian M. Julien
Materials 2013, 6(3), 1028-1049; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma6031028

“NMR Spectroscopy in Structural Biology and Drug Discovery Research” Guest Editors: Dr. Marilisa Leone, Dr. Flavia Anna Mercurio and Dr. Marian Vincenzi Submission deadline 31 December 2025	“Advanced Research in Prediction of Protein Structure and Function, 2nd Edition” Guest Editor: Dr. Shuai Cheng Li Submission deadline 20 February 2026
“Virus-Host Protein Interactions” Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Benoit Coulombe Submission deadline 28 February 2026	“Gene Editing Therapies for Hereditary Diseases” Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Jacques P. Tremblay Submission deadline 25 March 2026