Introduction to Green Pharmaceutical Science: Fact, Fiction, and Future

Abstract

Modern chemistry can be traced back to the eighteenth century,when Antoine Lavoisier, who is now recognized as the father ofmodern chemistry, disproved phlogiston theory by establishing thatoxygen was the component of air that combines with substances asthey burn.1 Two centuries later, the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry,among other fields, was awarded in 1901. Over the next 100 years,the field of chemistry advanced to increase the understanding ofchemical processes and their contribution to modern technology. In2005, the Nobel committee recognized metathesis, which enablesthe development of synthesis reactions that are more efficient,simpler to use, and environmentally friendlier, as a significantachievement for the development of pharmaceuticals and lauded itas a “great step forward for green chemistry.”2