“Click Chemistry”: Molecules as Legos!

A Talk by Karen Frindell Teuscher, PhD
SRJC Chemistry Professor

Monday 6 PM • May 25th, 2026 

Click Chemistry has been used to build new materials, map livingcells in real time, and revolutionize drugs for cancer treatment.

When it comes to simple, elegant reactions, biology has always had chemistry beat. Living organisms seamlessly and effortlessly turn simple, non-toxic building blocks into complex advanced materials. Sugars snap together to become cellulose and lignin to form giant redwood trees; amino acids join to make proteins that make up all manner of catalysts and functional biomaterials. But it turns out human chemists haven’t always had this ability with creating molecules. Enter “Click Chemistry”! At the turn of the 21st century, Professor K. Barry Sharpless and his collaborators turned conventional chemistry synthesis upside down by designing a system that treats molecules as Legos – just as nature does. Since then, Click Chemistry has been used to build new materials, map living cells in real time, and revolutionize drugs for cancer treatment. And this clever, fast, and useful framework for creating the molecules humans need to improve our lives only continues to show more promise for the future.

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