Pregl (Pregl), Fritz

September 3, 1869, Mr.. - December 13, 1930
Austrian chemist Fritz Pregl was born in Laibach (now Ljubljana, Yugoslavia), in the family of an employee of the Treasury Raymond and Frederick Pregl (Shlaker) Pregl. The boy lost his father early in 1887, after graduating from high school in Laibach, moved with his mother in Graz. Having entered the University of Graz, P. began studying medicine and distinguished himself as a talented student that a teacher of physiology Rollet, Alexander made him his assistant in the laboratory.
Received in 1893. medical degree, P. stayed to work in the laboratory shutters, while practicing as an ophthalmologist. At this time, P. more and more fond of chemistry. He was particularly interested in the reactions of cholic acid, found in bile, and the reason for the high content of carbon-nitrogen compounds in human urine. His investigations were rated high enough, and in 1899. he was offered the post of lecturer at the Department of Physiology, University of Graz.
The desire to continue the study begun in physiological chemistry resulted in P. in Germany, where during 1904. He worked with Charles Hufnera of Tц?bingen, in Wilhelm Ostwald - in Leipzig and in Emil Fischer - University of Berlin. Upon his return to Graz in 1905. He was appointed assistant professor at the University Laboratory of Medical Chemistry, and two years later became the court chemist Graz.
Studying the chemistry of bile acids and protein, P. encountered difficulties in analyzing very small quantities of substances subject to analysis. It is time to carry out chemical analysis on the available level, but using advanced techniques developed in 1830. chemist Justus von Liebig and Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas, required at least from 0,15 to 0,20 grams of substance. This meant that for the study of molecules P. would have to solve an impossible task - to process several tons of the test material. An alternative solution has been improved methods of chemical analysis. P. chose the latter.
Once in 1910. P. He was appointed professor of medical chemistry at the University of Innsbruck, he was able to devote much of their time microanalysis. One of the first raised its task was to invent a scale, more sensitive than those used in conventional makroanaliticheskoy Chemistry. Improving balance, designed by German chemist VG. Kuhlmann, so that they showed weight with an accuracy of one thousandth of a milligram, P. increased their accuracy by 10 times.
P. studied organic molecules that contain mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and often nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other elements. Analysis of these compounds requires the definition of the proportional composition of their constituent elements. First, we need to convert all carbon to carbon dioxide, and all the hydrogen - in the water. Then these products are separated by the absorption of other substances that are being weighed before and after absorption, will show how much carbon, oxygen and hydrogen has been absorbed by them. Since any contact with the air pollution would be a test sample, this step in the whole process was the most difficult. P. also found that the absorption of a substance leak, contaminating the samples, extraneous by-products, albeit in a benign by the standards of the number of macro-analysis. To overcome this difficulty, he invented a special filter, which delayed everything except carbon dioxide and water. Continuing his studies, P. developed methods for the study of micro-organic groups such classical, . as halogens, . carboxyl groups and methyl, . and produced with the help of glass blowers are extremely small in size, new hardware, . which enabled us to determine the molecular weight of a substance through its boiling point.,
. By 1911, Mr.
. P. applied his methods of analysis to the samples in an amount ranging from 7 to 13 milligrams of the substance, and two years later - already up to 3 milligrams. The scientist also reduced the time of chemical analysis of up to one hour, ie. more than three times. His proposed methods are much less complex and significantly more accurate than previous ones, proved to be particularly important in the analysis of complex biomedical compounds.
In 1913, Mr.. P. returned to the University of Graz as professor of medical chemistry in 1916. became dean of the medical faculty, and in 1920,. - His vice-chancellor. All the while he continued to work on improving and simplifying methods for microanalysis. His work on serum, bile acids and various enzymes crowned with significant results.
In 1923, Mr.. P. was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 'for the invention of the method of microanalysis of organic substances'. In his Nobel lecture he, . generously paying tribute to colleagues for their contribution to its work, . hoped, . 'that in the future for the quantitative microanalysis of organic substances, there are still many areas of application, . that he will continue to improve, . opening, . thus, . opportunities for scientific knowledge '.,
. After receiving the Nobel Prize P
. continued to be actively engaged in research and teaching activities. His laboratory became a world-renowned center of organic microanalysis. And his careful and very precise approach of the experimenter handed the students learned. Known as an honest, energetic and humble man, P. helped many students complete their education in the difficult years after World War. P. liked to go to the mountains, was an avid cyclist and motorist. Scientist was never married. Before his death, he donated a large sum of money of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna to establish a prize for achievements in the field mikrohimii. P. died at the age of 61 in Graz after a short illness.
In addition to the Nobel, P. was awarded in Chemistry Leiba Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna (1914). He was an honorary doctor of Goettingen University, corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.