Buchanan was a dedicated researcher, and his work on purine biosynthesis spurred the development of many chemotherapy anticancer drugs that have been widely used for decades. His lab at MIT built on his early purine work to explore the biosynthesis of the methyl group of methionine. His team also investigated nucleotide and nucleic acid synthesis in bacteriophage T4-infected E. coli cells, as well as other facets of nucleotide metabolism.

Photo credit: The Protein Society