CHENEY Ernst

June 19, 1906, Mr.. - August 12, 1979
German-British biochemist Ernst Boris Chain was born in Berlin, Jewish family. His father, Michael Cheyne, born in Russia, emigrated to Germany, studied chemistry in Berlin and then there started a profitable chemical industry. Dam Ch Margaret Cheyne (Eisner), was a native of Germany. In 1920, Mr.. Father B. died, leaving a legacy, but because of inflation in 1923 ... 1924. family bankrupt. Still left enough money to H. able to get an education at the University of Friedrich Wilhelm, graduating with a degree in chemistry. CH. seriously engaged in music, dreaming of a career of piano. However, in 1930, received his doctorate in chemistry, has made his decision and began to study the biochemistry of enzymes in the Charite Hospital in Berlin.
Two years later, H. took German citizenship, but when in power in Germany, Hitler came, he decided to emigrate to England, because he was a Jew and a leftist militants in politics. After 6 years he became a British citizen. However, H. unable to arrange a move to England for his mother and sisters, and after 1942. his mother died in a concentration camp, and my sister went missing.
In England B. first began working in London's University College Hospital. However, he believed that opportunities for research are inadequate. In the same year he moved to Cambridge and began work under the direction of Frederick Goulenda Hopkins. Although the laboratory in Cambridge has been fitted no better than in London, the situation was more than disposing to work as a scientist and Hopkins arouse admiration C.
Meanwhile, in 1935. Howard Florey was appointed professor at Oxford University. This scientist was a pathologist and bacteriologist, and sought to redefine the teaching and research work in the field of pathology. For this, he called for pathologists, chemists and experimenters to work closely. Flory turned to Hopkins to recommend a candidate for leadership of biomedical research in the William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University, and Charles Hopkins suggested
One of the first order, which suggested Flory W. on his arrival in Oxford, was the study of antibacterial substances in t. h. lysozyme, open Alexander Fleming in 1922. 'Lysozyme possesses all the properties of the enzyme, - wrote W. later - but the properties of the substrate of bacteria, for which it operates, was unknown '. CH. engaged in the allocation of the substrate (ie. substance, which acts on the enzyme) and study its interaction with the lysozyme. Later, he said: 'For the first time in my life I was faced with the need to obtain microbial biomass in large quantities, and since then this problem has become central to my academic career'.
In my research, the chemical properties of lysozyme Ch. examined all the available works on natural antimicrobial agents. 'This area seemed to me a very extensive and almost unexplored and here it was possible to discover new antibacterial substances that would be of scientific and clinical interest' - wrote W. subsequently. Among the scientific papers he found the first description of penicillin, Fleming, published in 1929
Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, but in the early 30-ies. he almost stopped the investigation of this matter, because it was chemically unstable and it was difficult to produce in quantities sufficient for research. CH. wrote: 'The difficulties encountered by Fleming, only fueled my interest in the detected Fleming penicillin. I said Flory, that we will certainly find a way to at least partially purify penicillin in spite of its lability (instability of) ... In this regard, we began our work on its isolation and purification, . not so much wanting to find new antibacterial chemotherapeutic agents, . as an attempt to identify the enzyme, . which, . as we had hoped, . will hydrolyze common substrate on the cell surface of many pathogenic bacteria. ",
. At the suggestion of H
. Flory got from the Rockefeller Foundation grants for work on penicillin, which began in 1938. CH. and his colleague Norman Hetli quickly came to the conclusion that penicillin - this is not an enzyme, a relatively small molecule organic compound. The small size of the molecule of penicillin led researchers to the erroneous assumption that it will be easy to decipher the molecular structure and synthesis. Both assumptions proved wrong.
. It turned out that in the penicillin is a complex of reactive groups (later this structure was called beta-lactams), which had never before been detected in nature and only rarely detected in the laboratory
. CH. suggested the existence of such structures in 1943, but he was not the only scientist who had provided a similar view, and besides, he admitted the possibility of structures and other types of. Only in 1949. issue has been clarified thanks to the work on X-ray crystallography, Dorothy Hodgkin. It was also found that beta-lactam is difficult to synthesize, although this synthesis was carried out in 1957, it is still too expensive.
Meanwhile, H. and Flory found, . that instead, . to synthesize penicillin, . they can get it in concentrated form using a new method of freeze-drying, . where the solution of penicillin initially frozen, . and then expelled and the water vapor condensed at very low temperature,
. Special role in the development and construction of laboratory equipment played Hetli. By May 1940. CH. and Flory were crude penicillin in sufficient quantities to test its effect on mice with infectious diseases, which usually leads to death. The results showed the therapeutic value of penicillin in the treatment of common infections. The following year, Flory began the first clinical trials of penicillin.
W. characterized by volatility and pugnaciousness. Initially, his relationship with were quite friendly Flory: Flory led the work, and H. has made it his enthusiasm. However, after 1941. their relationship began to deteriorate: Flora and Hetli went to the United States for assistance in the study and production of penicillin, and H. remained in England. In 1944, Mr.. Rumors that the Nobel Prize may be awarded to one or Fleming, and Fleming, Florey, and it would deprive H. composure.
However, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly C., Fleming and Florey 'for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect for many infectious diseases'. At the awarding ceremony of the Karolinska Institute scientist Goran Liliestrand recalled, . that penicillin has an unusually strong therapeutic effect in many major infectious diseases, . including general blood poisoning, . Meningitis, . gas gangrene, . pneumonia, . Syphilis, . gonorrhea and many others.,
. Despite universal recognition of the work W
. and his colleagues, his dissatisfaction with the constantly increasing. From the outset, he wanted to get a patent on the technique developed by his group in 1948. applied for a provisional patent. However, the British Medical Research Council rejected the application. After the war, W. decided interest from Oxford University and the British government in the production of penicillin, developed a program of industrial microbiology and fermentation technology. However, this subsidy program is not followed, and his hopes were in vain.
All this led to the fact that H. accepted the proposal of the Chemical Research Center of the Italian State Institute of Microbiology and headed the first international center for studies of antibiotics. In 1948, Mr.. before his departure for Rome V. married Anne Beloff, who worked as a biochemist at Oxford University. In the family they had two sons and a daughter. In Italy, B. continued his research on penicillin. And if during the Second World War W. made an important contribution to the clarification of the question of the structure of penicillin, in the late 50-ies. He supported the efforts of British scientists for the production of semisynthetic derivatives of penicillin
In the 60-ies. CH. returned to England as head of the department of biochemistry at Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London and director of the newly organized Wolfson Laboratory. His work in this position was marked by numerous conflicts of Administrative and Financial Affairs. In 1973, Mr.. CH. retired. In 1978. CH. ill and in 1979. died at his country house in Ireland.
W. has been awarded many prizes, . including Berzelius medal from the Swedish Medical Society (1946), . Medals Pa-Coster Pasteur Institute in Paris (1946), . Award in honor of the 100 th anniversary of the birth of Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich Foundation (1954) and Marotta medals Italian Chemical Society (1962),
. He was Secretary General of the World Health Organization and a member of the New York Academy of Medicine, the French Academy of Medicine, Weizmann Institute in Israel, the Italian Chemical Society and the Finnish Society biochemists. In 1949, Mr.. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of London.