Kurt Wц?thrich

Wц?thrich, Kurt (Wц?trich, Kurt), (p. 1938) (Switzerland). Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2002 (jointly with D. Fennom and K. Tanaka).
Born October 4, 1938 in Aaberge (Switzerland). From 1957 to 1962 he studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at the University of Bern. Then completed the dissertation in the University of Basel, became a certified sports instructor, and a year on probation in the same. The terms of his interest in science was determined, when he continued training in the U.S. (1965-1967), University of California at Berkeley. Next Wц?thrich worked in private companies 'Bell Telephone' in Murray Hill (New Jersey).

In 1969, Wц?thrich returned home and began working at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. It worked Nobel T. Reichstein, V. Prelog, L. Ruzicka, G. Staudinger. Ibid worked since 1968 and a specialist in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance, Nobel laureate (1991) R. Ernst. With him, since 1976, Wц?thrich intensively worked. Purpose Vyutriha application was developed by Ernst and two-dimensional spectroscopy to the needs of molecular biology

. In 1946 F. Bloch (F. Bloch) and E. M. Purcell (EMPurcell) independently developed a technique of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), . which quickly became an indispensable tool for structural chemical analysis, . for which the author received the Nobel Prize in Physics (1952),
. In 1970-1980-x Ernst developed analytical methods for two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy using Fourier transform, which greatly expanded the possibilities of analysis of molecular structure. It should use this method to study the structure of biological macromolecules.

NMR provides information on the three-dimensional structure and internal dynamics of molecules. As a result of studies undertaken in the early 1980's, Wц?thrich able to use NMR to structural analysis of proteins. He developed a general method of systematic search of some reference points in the protein molecule and determine the distances between them. Using these distances, he was able to obtain three-dimensional structure of protein.

An example is the structural analysis of prions - a protein that causes mad cow disease. Wц?thrich and his colleagues showed, . in an aqueous solution of prion protein consists of two parts: about half of the chain takes a well-organized, . a fairly rigid three-dimensional structure, . while the other half destrukturirovana and highly mobile,
.

In many respects the method of NMR in the hands of biochemists complementary method of X-ray analysis. If the protein is studied by both methods to obtain information about its three-dimensional structure in crystals and in solution. The advantage of NMR is that proteins can be studied in solution, ie. in an environment similar to a living cell. The specificity of MRI - the ability to demonstrate unstructured and very mobile part of the molecule.

Perhaps the most important application of NMR will be used in a targeted search for biologically active molecules, the mechanism of action of which is in conjunction with a given biological macromolecule. If a small molecule binds to a large, changing the NMR spectrum of the latter. It can be used in the early stage skrinninga pharmaceuticals

. Sam Wц?thrich used this method to study the structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids, . in the study of their inter-and intramolecular interactions, . the survey structure of the genome, . in biomedical experiments in the field of immunosuppression,
.

He started his Wц?thrich with privat-dotsentstva, and in 1980 became Professor of Biophysics. In 1995-2000-X headed Department of Biology. Since 2001, Wц?thrich began to serve as a professor at the University Scripps Research in La Jц?lle (USA), tk. by Swiss law he was supposed to retire.

He was and remains a consultant to many leading pharmaceutical companies - 'Hoechst', 'Sandoz', 'Hoffman-La Roche', 'Ciba-Dzheydzhi' etc..

Peru Vyutriha owned the book NMR in biological research. "Peptides and proteins". (1976), "NMR of proteins and nucleic acids" (1986).

In 2002 Vyutrihu was awarded half the Nobel Prize 'for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance to determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution'. The other half shared by K. Tanaka and Dzh.Fenn.