- Vladimir Prelog
Infobox_Scientist
name = Vladimir Prelog
imagesize = 180px
caption =
birth_date =July 23 ,1906
birth_place =Sarajevo ,Bosnia and Herzegovina , then part ofAustria-Hungary
death_date = death date and age|1998|1|7|1906|7|23
death_place =Zürich ,Switzerland
field =Biochemistry
work_institution = Czech Institute of Technology
University of Zagreb
ETH Zürich
alma_mater =
doctoral_advisor =Emil Votoček
doctoral_students =
known_for =Organic chemistry biochemistry
prizes =Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1975)Vladimir Prelog (
July 23 1906 –January 7 1998 ) was a renownedchemist andNobel Prize winner inchemistry . Prelog lived and worked inPrague ,Zagreb andZürich during his lifetime.Biography
Prelog was born in
Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time within theAustro-Hungarian Empire , to Croatian parents who were working there. In 1915, as a child, Prelog moved toZagreb (Croatia ) with his parents. Educated inZagreb andOsijek , he graduated from the Czech Institute of Technology inPrague (Praha ) in 1929, receiving a degree as a chemicalengineer . His teacher was Emil Votoček, while his assistant Rudolf Lukeš introduced him to the world oforganic chemistry .After gaining the
Sc.D. in chemistry, he started to work in the private plant laboratory of G.J. Dríza in Prague, in charge of the production of rare chemicals that were not available on the market at that time. His pastime was spent in his own research, where he started investigatingalkaloids from thecacao bark.Career
Zagreb
In 1935, he was invited to join the Technical Faculty ("Tehnički Fakultet") of the
University of Zagreb , where he took the post of lecturer inorganic chemistry . He also taught students ofchemical engineering .With the help of collaborators and students, and financially sponsored by the pharmaceutical factory "Kaštel" (currently
Pliva ), he started research ofquinine and its compounds. Final works with the industry yielded a financially successful production ofStreptazol , one of the first commercialsulfonamide s.Scientific work here was crowned with the first synthesis of
adamantane , ahydrocarbon with an unusual alicyclic structure, being isolated fromMoravia noil field s.The results of Prelog's work have been published in the top European chemical literature and journals, while the
organic chemistry developed in Zagreb at that time was well known and identifiable around the world.Zürich
In 1941, he accepted the invitation of Lavoslav Ružička and left for
Zürich ,Switzerland , to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ("ETH", or Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule). He was promoted, starting as private senior lecturer and ending up becomingprofessor .Prelog was able to separate the
chiral enantiomere s ofTröger's base in 1944 bychromatography on aoptical activ substrate . With thisracemic separation he was able to proof that not only carbon but also nitrogen atoms can be the chiral centre in a molecule, which was speculated for several years. [cite journal
title = Über die Spaltung der Tröger'schen Base in optische Antipoden, ein Beitrag zur Stereochemie des dreiwertigen Stickstoffs
author = V. Prelog, P. Wieland
journal = Helvetica Chimica Acta
volume = 27
issue = 1
pages = 1127–1134
year = 1944
url =
doi = 10.1002/hlca.194402701143 ]After Ružička's retirement in 1957, Prelog took over the organic chemistry laboratory where he expanded its activity to unusual areas:
heterocyclic compound s, alkaloids,alicyclic compound s, and the isolation and study of biochemically active compounds found in smaller quantities in animal organisms. He also studied the structure ofantibiotic s and thestereochemistry ofenzyme reactions.His research has contributed to the explanation of the structure of
steroid s,triterpene , quinine,strychnine ,solanine and other alkaloids introducing so-called Prelog's regulation, which defines the conformational relations between reactants and products. Working withRobert Cahn andChristopher Ingold , he formulated the so-calledCIP system , applied generally instereometry .Thanks to him and Ružička, Zürich has become one of the most significant centers of modern
organic chemistry .Nobel Prize
Prelog received the 1975
Nobel Prize for chemistry for his works in the field of natural compounds and stereochemistry, sharing it with theAustralian /British research chemist John Cornforth.His scientific opus encompasses more than 400 works. Lecturer of distinctive style and eloquence, he trained many generations of chemists. In 1986, he became an honorary member of the
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts .Private life
As a private person, he was the source of anecdotes about almost all eminent chemists all over the world. An intellectual with a wide cultural background, he never insisted on authority and was unused to confrontation. As an introspective person, ironic and suspicious of high social, political or religious aspirations, Prelog rarely allowed people insight into his inner life. He was one of the 109 Nobel Prize winners who signed the peace appeal for Croatia in 1991.
Vladimir Prelog died in
Zürich , at the age of 91. An urn containing Prelog's ashes was ceremoniously interred at theMirogoj cemetery inZagreb onSeptember 27 2001 .References
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*External links
* [http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1975/prelog-autobio.html Vladimir Prelog]
* [http://www.nobel-winners.com/Chemistry/vladimir_prelog.html Nobel Prize Winners - Vladimir Prelog]
* [http://www.posta.hr/marke_v2_det.asp?serija=416&brmarke=417 Prelog, Ružička, Andrić Postal Stamps]
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