This is a list of unsolved problems in chemistry. Problems in chemistry are considered unsolved when an expert in the field considers it unsolved or when several experts in the field disagree about a solution to a problem.
- Enzyme kinetics: Why do some enzymes exhibit faster-than-diffusion kinetics?[13]
- Protein folding problem: Is it possible to predict the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of a polypeptide sequence based solely on the sequence and environmental information? Inverse protein-folding problem: Is it possible to design a polypeptide sequence which will adopt a given structure under certain environmental conditions?[4][14] This has been achieved for several small globular proteins in recent years.[15] In 2020, it was announced that Google's AlphaFold, a neural network based on DeepMind artificial intelligence, is capable of predicting a protein's final shape based solely on its amino-acid chain with an accuracy of around 90% on a test sample of proteins used by the team.[16]
- RNA folding problem: Is it possible to accurately predict the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of a polyribonucleic acid sequence based on its sequence and environment?
- Protein design: Is it possible to design highly active enzymes de novo for any desired reaction?[17]
- Biosynthesis: Can desired molecules, natural products or otherwise, be produced in high yield through biosynthetic pathway manipulation?[18]
Potter, Brian. "The Story of Titanium". Construction Physics. Retrieved 2023-08-24. In the 1950s, it was hoped/assumed that a better process for producing titanium sponge would come along to replace the Kroll process, which is a laborious and energy-intensive batch process that must be done in an inert atmosphere. But such a process has never materialized...likewise, turning titanium sponge into metal is an energy and capital-intensive process [that] has also changed little since the 1950s.