Why Merrifield was honored

The letter from Leonard Greiner in appreciation of Bruce Merrifield is interesting, but he is wrong in stating that Merrifield received the Nobel Prize for the synthesis of DNA (C&EN, Aug. 21, page 6). The 1984 prize was awarded "for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix," which derived from his pioneering work on the solid-phase synthesis of peptides. He later demonstrated the power of this technique with his synthesis of the enzyme ribonuclease (124 amino acid residues).

Merrifield couldn't have imagined that his solid-phase approach would later be applied to the whole new area of combinatorial synthesis. Merrifield merits recognition as a giant in the field of organic synthesis, yet he was one of the most modest men I have known.

Anthony B. Mauger
Kensington, Md.