Emil Fischer

Hermann Emil Fischer
Born	October 9, 1852 Euskirchen, Germany
Died	July 15, 1919 Berlin, Germany
Residence	Germany
Nationality	German
Field	Chemist
Institution	University of Munich (1875-81) University of Erlangen (1881-88) University of Würzburg (1888-92) Image File history File linksMetadata Hermann_Emil_Fischer. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of the district Euskirchen. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... A chemist pours from a Florence flask. ... With approximately 48,000 students, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München or LMU) is one of the largest universities in Germany. ... Erlangen is a German city in Middle Franconia. ... [ recorded in this] The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. ... University of Berlin (1892-1919)
Alma Mater	University of Bonn University of Strassburg
Academic Advisor	Adolf von Baeyer
Notable Students	Alfred Stock
Known for	Study of sugars & purines
Notable Prizes	Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1902)

Hermann Emil Fischer (October 9, 1852 - July 15, 1919) was a German chemist and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1902. Emil Fischer was born in Euskirchen, near Cologne, the son of a businessman. After graduating he wished to study natural sciences, but his father compelled him to work in the family business until determining that his son was unsuitable. There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der... The main building, viewed from the Hofgarten. ... Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (October 31, 1835 - August 20, 1917) was a German chemist who synthesized indigo, and was the 1905 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ... Alfred Stock (1876-August 1946) was a German inorganic chemist. ... This article deals with sugar as food and as an important, widely traded commodity; the word also has other uses; see Sugar (disambiguation) A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alter the flavor and properties (mouthfeel, perservation... Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring that is fused with an imidazole ring. ... Image File history File links Nobel. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to the present day. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... A chemist pours from a Florence flask. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to the present day. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of the district Euskirchen. ... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ...

Fischer then attended the University of Bonn in 1872, but switched to the University of Strasbourg in 1872. He earned his doctorate in 1874 with his study of phthalein and was appointed to a position at the university. The main building, viewed from the Hofgarten. ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The University Palace in Strasbourg, and a monument to one of the universitys students, Johann Wolfgang Goethe The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is divided into three separate institutions. ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1875 von Baeyer was asked to succeed Liebig at the University of Munich and Fischer went there with him to become an assistant in organic chemistry. With approximately 48,000 students, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München or LMU) is one of the largest universities in Germany. ...

In 1878 Fischer qualified as a Privatdozent at Munich, where he was appointed Associate Professor of Analytical Chemistry in 1879. In the same year he was offered, but refused, the Chair of Chemistry at Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1881 he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Erlangen and in 1883 he was asked by the Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik to direct its scientific laboratory. Fischer, however, whose father had now made him financially independent, preferred academic work.

In 1888 he was asked to become Professor of Chemistry at the University of Würzburg and here he remained until 1892, when he was asked to succeed A. W. Hofmann in the Chair of Chemistry at the University of Berlin. Here he remained until his death in 1919. [ recorded in this] The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. ... There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der...

Fischer's early discovery of phenylhydrazine and its influence on his later work have already been mentioned. While he was at Munich, Fisher continued to work on the hydrazines and, working there with his cousin Otto Fischer, who had followed him to Munich, he and Otto worked out a new theory of the constitution of the dyes derived from triphenylmethane, proving this by experimental work to be correct. The first discovered hydrazine was phenylhydrazine, C6H5NHNH2 by Emil Fischer in 1875 by reduction of a phenyl diazonium salt by sulfite salts. ... Hydrazine is the chemical compound with formula N2H4. ... french: triphényl méthane english: triphenyl methane other: methane triphenyl Boiling point: 78,2 C (from CRC Handbook) Categories: Chemistry stubs ...

At Erlangen Fischer studied the active principles of tea, coffee and cocoa, namely, caffeine and theobromine, and established the constitution of a series of compounds in this field, eventually synthesizing them. Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ... Theobromine is a bitter alkaloid of the methylxanthine family, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine. ...

The work, however, on which Fischer's fame chiefly rests, was his studies of the purines and the sugars. This work, carried out between 1882 and 1906 showed that various substances, little known at that time, such as adenine, xanthine, in vegetable substances, caffeine and, in animal excrete, uric acid and guanine, all belonged to one homogeneous family and could be derived from one another and that they corresponded to different hydroxyl and amino derivatives of the same fundamental system formed by a bicyclic nitrogenous structure into which the characteristic urea group entered. This parent substance, which at first he regarded as being hypothetical, he called purine in 1884, and he synthesized it in 1898. Numerous artificial derivatives, more or less analogous to the naturally-occurring substances, came from his laboratory between 1882 and 1896. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Guanine is one of the five main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA; the others being adenine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil. ... Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. ...

In 1884 Fischer began his great work on the sugars, which transformed the knowledge of these compounds and welded the new knowledge obtained into a coherent whole. Even before 1880 the aldehyde formula of glucose had been indicated, but Fischer established it by a series of transformations such as oxidation into aldonic acid and the action of phenylhydrazine which he had discovered and which made possible the formation of the phenylhydrazones and the osazones. By passage to a common osazone, he established the relation between glucose, fructose and mannose, which he discovered in 1888. In 1890, by epimerization between gluconic and mannonic acids, he established the stereochemical nature and isomery of the sugars, and between 1891 and 1894 he established the stereochemical configuration of all the known sugars and exactly foretold the possible isomers, by an ingenious application of the theory of the asymmetrical carbon atom of Van't Hoff and Le Bel, published in 1874. Reciprocal syntheses between different hexoses by isomerization and then between pentoses, hexoses, and heptoses by reaction of degradation and synthesis proved the value of the systematics he had established. His greatest success was his synthesis of glucose, fructose and mannose in 1890, starting from glycerol. An aldehyde. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is the most important carbohydrate in biology. ... An Aldonic acid is any of a family of sugar acids obtained by oxidation of the aldehyde function of aldoses to a carboxylic acid function. ... Osazones are a class of carbohydrate derivatives found in organic chemistry formed when sugars are reacted with phenylhydrazine. ... Gluconic acid is the carboxylic acid formed by the oxidation of the first carbon of glucose and has the chemical formula C6H12O7. ... The different types of isomers. ... A hexose is a monosaccharide with six carbon atoms having the chemical formula C6H12O6. ... A pentose is a monosaccharide with five carbon atoms. ... A heptose is a monosaccharide with seven carbon atoms. ...

This monumental work on the sugars, carried out between 1884 and 1894, was extended by other work, the most important being his studies of the glucosides.

Between 1899 and 1908 Fischer made his great contributions to knowledge of the proteins. He sought by analysis effective methods of separating and identifying the individual amino acids, discovering a new type of them, the cyclic amino acids: proline and oxyproline. He also studied the synthesis of proteins by obtaining the various amino acids in an optically active form in order to unite them. He was able to establish the type of bond that would connect them together in chains, namely, the peptide bond, and by means of this he obtained the dipeptides and later the tripeptides and polypeptides. In 1901 he discovered, in collaboration with Fourneau, the synthesis of the dipeptide, glycyl-glycine and in that year he also published his work on the hydrolysis of casein. Amino acids occurring in nature were prepared in the laboratory and new ones were discovered. His synthesis of the oligopeptides culminated in an octodecapeptide, which had many characteristics of natural proteins. This and his subsequent work led to a better understanding of the proteins and laid the foundations for later studies of them. A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Phenylalanine is one of the standard amino acids. ... L-Proline is one of the twenty proteinogenic units which are used in living organisms as the building blocks of proteins. ...

In addition to his great work in the fields already mentioned, Fischer also studied the enzymes and the chemical substances in the lichens which he found during his frequent holidays in the Black Forest, and also substances used in tanning and, during the final years of his life, the fats.

Fischer was made a Prussian Geheimrat (Excellenz), and held honorary doctorates of the Universities of Christiania, Cambridge (England), Manchester and Brussels. He was also awarded the Prussian Order of Merit and the Maximilian Order for Arts and Sciences. In 1902 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on sugar and purine syntheses.

At the age of 18, before he went to the University of Bonn, Fischer suffered from gastritis, which attacked him again towards the end of his tenure of the Chair at Erlangen and caused him to refuse a tempting offer to follow Victor Meyer at the Federal Technical University at Zurich and to take a year's leave of absence before he went, in 1888, to Würzburg. Possibly this affliction was the forerunner of the cancer from which he died. Gastritis is a medical term for inflammation of the lining of the stomach. ...

Throughout his life he was well served by his excellent memory, which enabled him, although he was not a naturally good speaker, to memorize manuscripts of lectures that he had written.

He was particularly happy at Würzburg where he enjoyed walks among the hills and he also made frequent visits to the Black Forest. His administrative work, especially when he went to Berlin, revealed him as a tenacious campaigner for the establishment of scientific foundations, not only in chemistry, but in other fields of work as well. His keen understanding of scientific problems, his intuition and love of truth and his insistence on experimental proof of hypotheses, marked him as one of the truly great scientists of all time.

In 1888 Fischer married Agnes Gerlach, daughter of Joseph von Gerlach, Professor of Anatomy at Erlangen. Unhappily his wife died seven years after their marriage. They had three sons, one of whom was killed in the First World War; another took his own life at the age of 25 as a result of compulsory military training. The third son, Hermann Otto Laurenz Fischer, who died in 1960, was Professor of Biochemistry in the University of California at Berkeley. Joseph von Gerlach (* 1820, † 1896) was a German professor of anatomy at the university of Erlangen. ...

When Fischer died in 1919, the Emil Fischer Memorial Medal was instituted by the German Chemical Society.

Fischer is noted for his work on sugars among other work the organic synthesis of (+) glucose ^[1] and purines (including the first synthesis of caffeine). Magnification of typical sugar showing monoclinic hemihedral crystalline structure. ... Organic synthesis is the construction of organic molecules via chemical processes. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is the most important carbohydrate in biology. ... Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ...

Many consider Fischer to be the most brilliant chemist who ever lived, as his numerous contributions to science, especially chemistry and biochemistry. Many names of chemical reactions and concepts are named after him:

• Fischer indole synthesis
• Fischer projection
• Fischer oxazole synthesis
• Fischer peptide synthesis
• Fischer phenylhydrazine and oxazone reaction
• Fischer reduction
• Fischer-Speier esterification
• Fischer glycosidation

German Chemical Society medals are named after him The Fischer indole synthesis is a chemical reaction that produces the aromatic heterocycle indole from a (substituted) phenylhydrazine and an aldehyde or ketone under acidic conditions. ... Fischer projection of D-glucose In chemistry (particularly organic chemistry and biochemistry), a Fischer projection is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional organic molecule by projection. ... The Fischer oxazole synthesis is a chemical synthesis of the aromatic heterocycle oxazole from cyanohydrins and aldehydes in the presence of anhydrous hydrochloric acid. ... Fischer esterification is a special type of esterification and the process of forming an ester by refluxing a carboxylic acid and an alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst. ... Fischer glycosidation (or Fischer glycosylation) refers to the formation of a glycoside by the reaction of an aldose or ketose with an alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst. ...

See also

• List of chemists

This is a list of famous chemists: (alphabetical order) Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Emil Abderhalden, (1877–1950), Swiss chemist Richard Abegg, (1869–1910), German...

External link

• Biography at nobel.se

References

^[1] E. Fischer, Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 1890, 23, 799 ± 805.

• Horst Kunz. "Emil Fischer - Unequalled Classicist, Master of Organic Chemistry Research, and Inspired Trailblazer of Biological Chemistry". Angewandte Chemie International Edition: 4439 - 4451. DOI:<4439::AID-ANIE4439>3.0.CO;2-6 10.1002/1521-3773(20021202)41:23<4439::AID-ANIE4439>3.0.CO;2-6.

^[2] The Nobel Foundation. nobelprize.org A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...