Henri Kagan and Ryoji Kenso Awarded Nobel for Mirror‑Image Molecule Control

Henri B. Kagan of France and Ryoji Kenso of Japan have been honored with the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for unveiling how to direct chemical reactions toward a single mirror‑image form. Their research demonstrates that, much like left and right hands, certain molecules exist as non‑interchangeable twins. Traditional synthetic routes often produce both twins together, creating mixtures that complicate purification. Kagan’s early work provided a way to bias the reaction, while Kenso’s later inventions introduced catalytic cycles that lock in only the chosen enantiomer. The practical impact spans pharmaceuticals, where chiral purity can dictate therapeutic outcome, to materials science, where the handedness of molecules influences optical properties.