In 1991, graduate student Simon Friedman was studying drug design at the University of California in San Francisco. One day, he was chatting with Diana Roe, a fellow student, about one of the field’s latest rages–HIV protease inhibitors designed to combat the AIDS virus–and the discussion turned to unexpected new therapies that might come from medicinal chemists. Suddenly, Roe exclaimed, “What are they going to try next? Buckyballs?” Buckyballs–microscopic, soccer ball-shaped cages made of exactly 60 carbon atoms–had been recognized just 5 years earlier. The Nobel prize was awarded in 1996 to their discoverers, who had formally named the molecule buckminsterfullerene for its resemblance to the geodesic domes of architect R. Buckminster Fuller.
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Although these molecules resembled nothing found in any pharmacy, Friedman’s mind started calculating after his friend mentioned them. A buckyball, he mused, might just be exactly the right size to block the active site on the HIV protease enzyme–like a cork in a crazy-shaped wine bottle. HIV requires the protease’s active site to build new copies of itself. On his computer, Friedman soon modeled the interaction of a buckyball with the HIV protease and suddenly Roe’s casual suggestion seemed profound.