Congratulations to Agilent customer Frances Arnold, who has won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

“One half of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Frances H. Arnold,” the committee announced.  “In 1993, she conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes.”

“Directed evolution” is a method that uses evolution principles to bioengineer new and better enzymes.  The method was pioneered by Dr. Arnold in the 1990s, and is now used to make everything from laundry detergents to biofuels to medicines.  Directed evolution has replaced toxic chemicals in many industrial processes. (Caltech)

Dr. Arnold uses Agilent equipment in her research lab at Caltech.  For example, she used an Agilent UHPLC-MS in directed evolution research to synthesize L-tryptophan, an amino acid essential to human health.

Agilent is proud to support another Nobel Prize laureate!

Thanks to Sean Ramsey, Agilent account manager for Dr. Arnold, for his help with today’s post!

For more information go to:

• Press Release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 (nobelprize.org)
• Frances H. Arnold (Caltech)
• Frances Arnold Wins 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Caltech)
• Directed evolution of the tryptophan synthase β-subunit for stand-alone function recapitulates allosteric activation
• Agilent Enables Another Nobel Prize!
• Agilent Liquid Chromatography
• Agilent Mass Spectrometry