FISCHER

This article appears in Volume V10, Page 426 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: FAT-FLA

FISCHER , ERNST
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. He next turned to the rosaniline dyestuffs (the magenta of Sir W. H. Perkin), and in collaboration with his

cousin

Otto Fischer (b. 1852), then at Munich and afterwards professor at Erlangen, who has since identified himself mainly with the compounds of this and related groups, he published papers in 1878 and 1879 which indubitably established that these dyestuffs were derivatives of triphenyl methane. Fischer's next research was concerned with compounds related to uric acid. Here the ground had been broken more especially by von Baeyer, but practically all our knowledge of the so-called purin group (the word purin appears to have been suggested by the phrase purum uricum) is due to Fischer. In 18811882 he published papers which established the formulae of uric acid, xanthine, caffeine, theobromine and some other compounds of this group. But his greatest

work

WORK

in this field was instituted in 1894, when he commenced his

great

GREAT

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of papers, wherein the compounds above mentioned were all referred to a nitrogenous base, purin (q.v.). The base itself was obtained, but only after much difficulty; and an immense

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of derivatives were prepared, some of which were patented in view of possible therapeutical applications.' These researches were published in a collected form in 1907 with the title Untersuchungen in der Puringruppe (18821906). The first stage of his purin

work

WORK

successfully accomplished, he next attacked the sugar group. Here the

pioneer

PIONEER

work was again of little moment, and Fischer may be regarded as the prime investigator in this field. His researches may be taken as commencing in 1883; and the results are unparalleled in importance in the history of organic chemistry. The chemical complexity of these carbohydrates, and the difficulty with which they could be got into a manageable formthey generally appeared as syrupsoccasioned much experimental difficulty; but these troubles were little in comparison with the complications due to stereochemical relations. However, Fischer synthesized fructose, glucose and a

great

GREAT

number of other sugars, and having showed how to deduce, for instance, the formulae of the i6 stereoisomeric glucoses, he prepared several stereoisomerides, thereby completing a most brilliant experimental research, and simultaneously confirming the van't Hoff theory of the asymmetric carbon atom (see STEREO-

ISOMERISM

ISOMERISM

). The study of the sugars brought in its

train

TRAIN (M. Eng. trayn or trayne, derived through Fr. from Late Lat. trahinare, to drag, draw, Lat. trahere, cf. trail, trace, ultimately from the same source)

the necessity for examining the nature, properties and reactions of substances which bring about the decomposition known as fermentation (q.v.). Fischer attacked the problem presented by ferments and enzymes, and although we as yet know little of this complex subject, to Fischer is due at least one very important discovery, viz. that there exists some relation between the chemical constitution of a sugar and the ferment and enzyme which breaks it down. The magnitude of his researches in this field may be gauged by his collected papers, Untersuchungen giber Kohlenhydrale and Fermente (18841908), pp. viii.-I--912 (Berlin, 1909).
From the sugars and ferments it is but a short step to the subject of the proteins, substances which are more directly connected with life processes than any others. The chemistry of the proteins, a subject which bids

fair

FAIR

to be Fischer's great lifework, presents difficulties which are probably without equal in the whole field of chemistry, partly on account of the extraordinary chemical complexity of the substances involved, and partly upon the peculiar manner in which chemical reactions are brought about in the living organism. But by the introduction of new methods, Fischer succeeded irl breaking down the complex albuminoid substances into amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds, the constitutions of most of which have been solved; and by bringing about the re-combination of these units, appropriately chosen, he prepared synthetic peptides which approximate to the natural products. His methods led to the preparation of an octadeca-peptide of the molecular weight 1213, exceeding that of any other synthetic compound; out even this compound falls far short of the simplest natural peptide, which has a molecular weight of from 2000 to 3000, He considers, however, that the synthesis of more complex products is only a matter of trouble and cost. His researches made from 1899 to 1906 have been published with the title Untersuchungen fiber Aminosauren, Polypeptides and Proteine (Berlin, 1907). The extra-

ordinary

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

merit of his many researches has been recognized by all the important scientific societies in the world, and he was awarded the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1902 Under his

control

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

the laboratory at Berlin became one of the most important in existence, and has attracted to it a constant stream of brilliant pupils, many of whom are to be associated with much of the experimental work indissolubly connected with Fischer.

End of Article: FISCHER

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/FAT_FLA/FISCHER.html">
FISCHER
</a>

(Previous)
FISCHART, JOHANN (c. 15451591)

(Next)
FISCHER, EMIL (1852 )

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email