The chelate effect in binding, catalysis, and chemotherapy
Ronald Breslow · Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas · 1994
Abstract Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff was in many senses the father of modern chemistry. It is a great honor to be invited to give this eighth van't Hoff lecture, and a great pleasure to visit the Netherlands again. Among his other contributions, van't Hoff made us aware of the importance of the three‐dimensional structure of chemical substances. In 1874 he was the first to explain optical isomerism and geometrical isomerism in organic chemistry, ruffling the feathers of older established chemists such as Kolbe. In this lecture, I will describe three studies in somewhat diverse areas ‐ binding, catalysis, and cancer chemotherapy ‐ that are related in the sense that they all involve the cooperative action of two groups of a molecule acting on a substrate. As will become clear, the three‐dimensional arrangement of these groups (“La chimie dans l'espace”) is a critical aspect of their effective cooperation.