MARTIN Archer John Porter

MARTIN, Archer John Porter (Martin, Archer John Porter), 1910-2002 (United Kingdom). Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1952 (with R. Singh).

Born March 1, 1910 in London, the youngest of four children and only son in the family doctor, William Archer Porter Martin and nurse Lillian Keith Brown. While still a schoolboy constructed a column for fractional distillation of cans soldered together out of coffee in his laboratory, located in the basement

. In 19 years enrolled in the University of Cambridge with a scholarship that allowed him to get an engineer-chemist
. His first experiments were in physics - developed a method for measuring the pyro, based on the attraction to a metal plate immersed in liquid air tourmaline crystals. However, after getting acquainted with Dzh.S.Holdeynom physiologist (1860-1936) became interested in biology and changing the direction of his scientific studies, received a bachelor's degree in 1932, and in 1936 - a doctorate in biochemistry

. As a student at Cambridge University, worked in laboratories of food companies 'Dunn' over division and allocation of vitamins
. This work has gained considerable experience in the separation of closely related chemical components using methods such as fractional distillation, solvent extraction, and other similar technologies.

In 1937, Charles Martin, scientific director of Martin and Richard Singh in Cambridge, suggested that they work together for the separation of amino acids by countercurrent distribution. The mixture, which should be divided again and again dissolved in two immiscible solvents, moving in opposite directions. Since the components of the mixture have different affinity to solvents, they eventually split into two streams.

Attempts to create a device for countercurrent extraction failed because did not get a satisfactory mixture of suitable solvents. This does not mean that this method is no prospect. In 1944, L. Craig improved and automated this method, after which he took his place in the arsenal of biochemists.

In 1938, Martin was appointed a biochemist in the laboratory of the Research Association of the wool industry, where he later went to work and Singh. Continuing cooperation, they have developed in 1944 a method of paper chromatography.

In 1941 they decided to apply the principle of countercurrent distribution to the method of chromatography. With this method, silica gel column, which holds water well, served as the stationary phase, and chloroform was used as the mobile phase. In this case, metiloranzh was an indicator. The approach was called partition chromatography, as it used, and chromatography, and the distribution of solute between two solvents. Media used for packing columns, is inert and served only to hold one of the streams. The proposed method proved to be an effective way separation of amino acids. Junction chromatography (as opposed to adsorption) has allowed a greater choice of solvents and packed materials.

Then Martin and Singh found that cellulose is a good moisture-holding medium. This discovery led them in 1944 to develop the method of paper chromatography, which is used as a carrier filter paper

. A further improvement was a two-dimensional paper chromatography (occurs sequentially in two directions at a right angle in different solvent systems), . which provides separation and allows the analysis of complex mixtures without the high cost and effort,
.

In 1946, Martin became the head of the department of biochemical studies 'Boots pyuar Drug Company' in Nottingham. During the next two years studied partition chromatography of fatty acids, . working in the Medical Research Council Listerovskogo Institute in London, . then was appointed biochemist and head of the Department of Physical Chemistry, National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill (London),
.

In 1952, Martin and Shingu was awarded the Nobel Prize 'for the development of partition chromatography ".

In 1953, together with Martin E. T. James has developed another variant of partition chromatography - the method of gas-liquid chromatography. In this method, inert gas (argon, helium or nitrogen) served as mobile phase, which runs over inert solid material impregnated with nonvolatile liquid (silicone oil, alcohols with high molecular weight, etc.). This method proved particularly useful for the characterization of fatty acids and mixtures of steroids available in microgram quantities

. Partition chromatography in all developed by Martin and his colleagues variants was quickly put into service in many areas of chemistry and led to important discoveries, . the structure of proteins, . antibiotics, . nucleotides, . lipids, . Vaccine, . polysaccharides, . rare earth elements, etc.,


. From 1959 to 1970 Martin was the director of 'Ebbotsbari laboratriz Limited', and within three years of a consultant 'Wellcome Foundation Limited', and then joined the Medical Research Council as a professor of chemistry Sasseksskogo University
.

In his youth with pleasure in a mountaineering, gliding and jiu-jitsu.

Died July 28, 2002.