Moses Kunitz

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Moses Kunitz
Born(1887-12-19)December 19, 1887
Enzymology
InstitutionsRockefeller University

Moses Kunitz (1887โ€“1978) was a Russian-American biochemist who spent most of his career at Rockefeller University. He is best known for a series of experiments in purification and crystallization of proteins, contributing to the determination that enzymes are proteins.

Early life and education

Kunitz was born in

Ph.D. in biological chemistry in 1924. Kunitz began work as a technical assistant in Jacques Loeb's laboratory at Rockefeller University in 1913 and continued there throughout his graduate years. Loeb arranged for Kunitz to receive a staff appointment at Rockefeller after graduation.[3]

Academic career

Kunitz' position at Rockefeller was originally secured by Jacques Loeb. After Loeb died in 1924,

professor emeritus status but continued to work regularly in the laboratory until eventually retiring in 1970.[2][3][4]

Kunitz was awarded the Carl Neuberg Medal in 1957 in recognition of his long research career and noted technical skill in the laboratory, which was critical to his long series of successes in protein crystallization.[3] He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967.[1]

Research

Kunitz is best known for his efforts in

Wendell M. Stanley, and James B. Sumner were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946.[6] Kunitz himself was nominated three times for a share of a Nobel for this work.[7]

In addition to his work on crystallization of proteases, Kunitz also performed careful work in

enzymology, characterizing the kinetics and thermodynamics of protease reactions. He worked on other proteins as well, in particular ribonucleases, which were popular model systems for their small size and ease of crystallization. During World War II he worked on government-assigned crystallization projects and was noted for the facility with which he crystallized hexokinase.[3] Kunitz was widely recognized specifically for his craftsmanship and technical skill in the laboratory.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Moses Kunitz". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Moses Kunitz, 90". New York Times. 25 April 1978. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-309-03938-3
    .
  4. ^ "Moses Kunitz papers, Rockefeller University Faculty (FA171)". Rockefeller Archive. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. ^ Bernard, RL; Hymowitz, T; Cremeens, TR (1991). "Registration of "Kunitz" soybean". Crop Science. 31 (1): 232โ€“233.
  6. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1946". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Nomination Database". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  8. ISBN 9780674810778
    .

External links
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