Emil Fischer

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Hermann Emil Fischer
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For other people named Emil Fischer, see Emil Fischer (disambiguation).

Hermann Emil Fischer
purines
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
University of Berlin (1892–1919)
Doctoral advisorAdolf von Baeyer
Walter A. Jacobs
Ludwig Knorr
Oskar Piloty
Julius Tafel

Hermann Emil Louis Fischer

Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer projection, a symbolic way of drawing asymmetric carbon atoms. He also hypothesized lock and key mechanism of enzyme action. He never used his first given name, and was known throughout his life simply as Emil Fischer.[2][3][4][5]

Early years and career

Fischer was born in

phthaleins
. Fischer remained with Baeyer in Strassburg as an independent research student. In the fall of 1874, he was appointed assistant of the organic laboratory. There, he discovered phenylhydrazine. This compound reacts with carboxylic compounds (aldehydes and ketones) producing crystalline solids. The phenylhydrazones of sugars allowed him to develop his work on the synthesis of sugars and purines, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1902. Using the phenylhydrazone of piruvic acid, he develop the synthesis of indole.

In 1875 von Baeyer was asked to succeed Justus von Liebig at the University of Munich and Fischer went there with him to become an assistant in organic chemistry. In 1878 Fischer qualified as a "Privatdozent" at Munich, where he was appointed associate professor of analytical chemistry in 1879.[7]

In 1882 he was appointed professor of chemistry at the University of Erlangen and in 1885 at the University of Würzburg. In 1892 he succeeded von Hofmann as professor of chemistry at the University of Berlin.[8]

Fischer married Agnes Gerlach in 1888. She died seven years later, leaving him a widower with three sons. The younger two died during their military service in World War I, but the oldest, Hermann, became an organic chemist.[6] Emil Fischer died in Berlin on 15 July 1919 at the age of 66.[5]

Research

He investigated the derivatives of phenylhydriazines, establishing their relation to the

ketones. His observations, published in 1886, that such hydrazones, by treatment with hydrochloric acid or zinc chloride, yielded derivatives of indole, the parent substance of indigo, were a confirmation of the views advanced by von Baeyer on the subject of indigo and the many substances related to it.[8]

He next turned to the

purines. In 1881 and 1882 he published papers which established the formulae of uric acid, xanthine, caffeine (achieving the first synthesis), theobromine and some other compounds of this group. After purine itself was isolated, a variety of derivatives were prepared, some of which were patented in view of possible therapeutical applications.[8]

Fischer is particularly noted for his work on sugars. Among his early discoveries related to hydrazine was that phenylhydrazine reacted with sugars to form substances which he named osazones, and which, being highly crystalline and readily formed, served to identify such carbohydrates more definitely than had been previously possible.[8] Later, among other work, he is noted for the organic synthesis of D-(+)-glucose.[9] He showed how to deduce the formulae of the 16 stereoisomeric glucoses, and prepared several stereoisomerides, helping to confirm the Le Bel–Van 't Hoff rule of the asymmetric carbon atom.[8]

In the field of enzymology, Fischer is known for his proposal of "the lock and key" model as a mechanism of substrate binding.[10]

Fischer was also instrumental in the discovery of

Josef von Mering, he helped to launch the first barbiturate sedative, barbital, in 1904.[11] He next carried out pioneering work on proteins. By the introduction of new methods, he succeeded in breaking down the complex albumins into amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds, the constitutions of most of which were known, and by bringing about the recombination of these units, he prepared synthetic peptides which approximated to the natural products. His research group synthesised the first free dipeptide (Glycine-Glycine) in 1901.[12] By 1906 about 65 peptides of different chain length and amino acid composition had been made by his research group. His researches made from 1899 to 1906 were published in 1907 with the title Untersuchungen über Aminosauren, Polypeptides und Proteine.[13] Three years later the total number of peptides exceeded 100, with the longest being an 18 amino acid peptide containing 15 glycine and three leucine units. The 18 amino acid peptide gave the standard responses to tests for proteins used by physiological chemists - a positive Biuret test, precipitation by inorganic salts and cleavage by proteolytic enzymes[14]

Honours, awards, and legacy

Monument to Emil Fischer in Berlin

In 1897 he put forward the idea to create the

Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1899.[1] He was awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in chemistry "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his work on sugar and purine syntheses."[15] He was elected an International Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1904, an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1908, and an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1909.[16][17][18]

Many names of chemical reactions and concepts are named after him:

The Fischer–Tropsch process is named after Franz Emil Fischer, who headed the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Muelheim, and is unrelated to Fischer.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fellows of the Royal Society". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.
  2. PMID 12458504
    .
  3. doi:10.1002/ange.19921041204
    .
  4. doi:10.1039/CT9201701157
    .
  5. ^ a b "Emil Fischer - Biographical". The Norbel Prize Organization. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9
    .
  7. ^ Emil Fischer – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1902/fischer/biographical/
  8. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fischer, Emil". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 426.
  9. doi:10.1002/cber.189002301126
    .
  10. doi:10.1016/0031-6865(95)00012-X
    .
  11. PMID 18568113
    .
  12. S2CID 254087824
    .
  13. ^ Fischer, Emil (1906) Untersuchungen über aminosäuern, polypeptide und proteine via Internet Archive
  14. PMID 11621201
    .
  15. ^ "Emil Fischer - Facts". The Nobel Prize Organization. Retrieved 30 March 2020.>
  16. ^ "Emil Fischer". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Emil Fischer". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  18. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  19. doi:10.1002/cber.19671000642
    .

"From My Life", an English translation of "Aus Meinem Leben", Emil Fischer's autobiography. D. M. and E. J. Behrman, Springer Verlag, 2022.

External links
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