Emil Fischer

Hermann Emil Louis Fischer FRS FRSE FCS (German

pronunciation: [ˈeːmiːl ˈfɪʃɐ] ⓘ ; 9 October 1852 – 15 Emil Fischer
July 1919) was a German chemist and 1902 recipient
of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the
Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer
projection, a symbolic way of drawing asymmetric
carbon atoms. He also hypothesized lock and key
mechanism of enzyme action. He never used his first
given name, and was known throughout his life simply
as Emil Fischer.[2][3][4][5]

Early years and career

Fischer was born in Euskirchen, near Cologne, the son
of Laurenz Fischer, a businessman, and his wife Julie
Poensgen. After graduating he wished to study natural Fischer c. 1895
sciences, but his father compelled him to work in the
Born Hermann Emil Louis Fischer
family business until determining that his son was
9 October 1852
unsuitable. Fischer then attended the University of
Euskirchen, Rhine Province
Bonn in 1871, but switched to the University of
Strasbourg in 1872.[6] He earned his doctorate in 1874 Died 15 July 1919 (aged 66)
under Adolf von Baeyer[6] with his study of phthaleins. Berlin, Germany
Nationality German
Fischer remained with Baeyer in Strassburg as an
Alma mater University of Bonn
independent research student. In the fall of 1874, he
University of Strasbourg
was appointed assistant of the organic laboratory.
There in 1875, he discovered and named hydrazines, Known for Study of sugars & purines
including unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, which Awards Davy Medal (1890)
became important much later during the Space Race, ForMemRS (1899)[1]
and phenylhydrazine.[2] The latter compound reacts
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
with carboxylic compounds (aldehydes and ketones)
(1902)
producing crystalline solids. The phenylhydrazones of
sugars allowed him to develop his work on the Faraday Lectureship Prize
(1907)
synthesis of sugars and purines, which earned him the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1902. Using the Elliott Cresson Medal (1913)
phenylhydrazone of piruvic acid, he developed the Scientific career
synthesis of indole.
Fields Chemistry
Institutions University of Munich (1875–
81)
In 1875, von Baeyer was asked to succeed Justus von University of Erlangen
Liebig at the University of Munich and Fischer went (1881–88)
there with him to become an assistant in organic University of Würzburg
chemistry. In 1878 Fischer qualified as a (1888–92)
"Privatdozent" at Munich, where he was appointed University of Berlin (1892–
associate professor of analytical chemistry in 1879.[7] 1919)
Doctoral Adolf von Baeyer
In 1882, he was appointed professor of chemistry at
advisor Friedrich August Kekulé
the University of Erlangen and in 1885 at the
Doctoral Alfred Stock
University of Würzburg. In 1892 he succeeded von
students Otto Diels
Hofmann as professor of chemistry at the University of
Otto Ruff
Berlin.[8]
Walter A. Jacobs
Ludwig Knorr
Oskar Piloty
Research Julius Tafel

He investigated the derivatives of phenylhydriazines,

establishing their relation to the diazo compounds, and he noted the readiness with which they entered
into combination with other substances, giving origin to a wealth of hitherto unknown compounds. Of
such condensation products undoubtedly the most important are the hydrazones, which result from the
interaction with aldehydes and ketones. His observations, published in 1886, that such hydrazones, by
treatment with hydrochloric acid or zinc chloride, yielded derivatives of indole, the parent substance of
indigo, were a confirmation of the views advanced by von Baeyer on the subject of indigo and the many
substances related to it.[8]

He next turned to the fuchsine (then called "rosaniline") magenta dyes, and in collaboration with his
cousin Otto Fischer, he published papers in 1878 and 1879 which established that these dyes were
derivatives of triphenylmethane. Emil Fischer's next research was concerned with compounds related to
uric acid. Here the ground had been broken by von Baeyer, but Fischer greatly advanced the field of
knowledge of the purines. In 1881 and 1882 he published papers which established the formulae of uric
acid, xanthine, caffeine (achieving the first synthesis), theobromine and some other compounds of this
group. After purine itself was isolated, a variety of derivatives were prepared, some of which were
patented in view of possible therapeutical applications.[8]

Fischer is particularly noted for his work on sugars. Among his early discoveries related to hydrazine was
that phenylhydrazine reacted with sugars to form substances which he named osazones, and which, being
highly crystalline and readily formed, served to identify such carbohydrates more definitely than had
been previously possible.[8] Later, among other work, he is noted for the organic synthesis of D-(+)-
glucose.[9] He showed how to deduce the formulae of the 16 stereoisomeric glucoses, and prepared
several stereoisomerides, helping to confirm the Le Bel–Van 't Hoff rule of the asymmetric carbon
atom.[8]

In the field of enzymology, Fischer is known for his proposal of "the lock and key" model as a
mechanism of substrate binding.[10]

Fischer was also instrumental in the discovery of barbiturates, a class of sedative drugs used for insomnia,
epilepsy, anxiety, and anesthesia. Along with the physician Josef von Mering, he helped to launch the first
barbiturate sedative, barbital, in 1904.[11] He next carried out pioneering work on proteins. By the
introduction of new methods, he succeeded in breaking down the complex albumins into amino acids and
other nitrogenous compounds, the constitutions of most of which were known, and by bringing about the
recombination of these units, he prepared synthetic peptides which approximated to the natural products.
His research group synthesised the first free dipeptide (Glycine-Glycine) in 1901.[12] By 1906 about 65
peptides of different chain length and amino acid composition had been made by his research group. His
researches made from 1899 to 1906 were published in 1907 with the title Untersuchungen über
Aminosauren, Polypeptides und Proteine.[13] Three years later the total number of peptides exceeded 100,
with the longest being an 18 amino acid peptide containing 15 glycine and three leucine units. The 18
amino acid peptide gave the standard responses to tests for proteins used by physiological chemists - a
positive Biuret test, precipitation by inorganic salts and cleavage by proteolytic enzymes[14]

Personal life and death

Fischer married Agnes Gerlach in 1888. She died seven years later, leaving him a widower with three
sons. The younger two died during their military service in World War I, but the oldest, Hermann, became
an organic chemist.[6] Emil Fischer died in Berlin on 15 July 1919 at the age of 66.[5]

Honours, awards, and legacy

In 1897 he put forward the idea to create the International Atomic
Weights Commission. Fischer was elected a Foreign Member of
the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1899.[1] He was awarded the
1902 Nobel Prize in chemistry "in recognition of the extraordinary
services he has rendered by his work on sugar and purine
syntheses."[15] He was elected an International Member of the
United States National Academy of Sciences in 1904, an
International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences in 1908, and an International Member of the
American Philosophical Society in 1909.[16][17][18]

Many names of chemical reactions and concepts are named after

him:

Fischer indole synthesis

Fischer projection Monument to Emil Fischer in Berlin

Fischer oxazole synthesis

Fischer peptide synthesis
Fischer phenylhydrazine and oxazone reaction
Fischer–Speier esterification
Fischer glycosidation
Kiliani–Fischer synthesis
The Fischer–Tropsch process is named after Franz Emil Fischer, who headed the Max Planck Institute for
Coal Research in Muelheim, and is unrelated to Fischer.[19]

References
1. "Fellows of the Royal Society" ([Link]
[Link]/about-us/fellowship/fellows/). London: Royal Society. Archived from the original (htt
ps://[Link]/about-us/fellowship/fellows/) on 16 March 2015.
2. Horst Kunz (2002). "Emil Fischer – Unequalled Classicist, Master of Organic Chemistry
Research, and Inspired Trailblazer of Biological Chemistry". Angewandte Chemie
International Edition. 41 (23): 4439–4451. doi:10.1002/1521-
3773(20021202)41:23<4439::AID-ANIE4439>[Link];2-6 ([Link]
3773%2820021202%2941%3A23%3C4439%3A%3AAID-ANIE4439%[Link]%3B2-6).
PMID 12458504 ([Link]
3. Lichtenthaler, F. W. (1992). "Emil Fischers Beweis der Konfiguration von Zuckern: eine
Würdigung nach hundert Jahren". Angewandte Chemie. 104 (12): 1577–1593.
Bibcode:1992AngCh.104.1577L ([Link]
doi:10.1002/ange.19921041204 ([Link]
4. Forster, Martin Onslow (1 January 1920). "Emil Fischer memorial lecture" ([Link]
g/record/2101751). Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions. 117: 1157–1201.
doi:10.1039/CT9201701157 ([Link]
5. "Emil Fischer - Biographical" ([Link]
aphical/). The Norbel Prize Organization. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
6. Farber, Eduard (1970–1980). "Fischer, Emil Hermann". Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.
7. Emil Fischer – Biographical. ([Link]
aphical/) [Link]. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023.
[Link]
8. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fischer, Emil". Encyclopædia Britannica.
Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 426.
9. Fischer, Emil (1890). "Synthese des Traubenzuckers" ([Link]
Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. 23: 799–805.
doi:10.1002/cber.189002301126 ([Link]
10. Cramer, F. (March 1995). "Biochemical correctness: Emil Fischer's lock and key hypothesis,
a hundred years after — an essay" ([Link]
0012X). Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae. 69 (4): 193–203. doi:10.1016/0031-6865(95)00012-
X ([Link]
11. López-Muñoz, Francisco; Ucha-Udabe, Ronaldo; Alamo, Cecilio (2005). "The history of
barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction" ([Link]
les/PMC2424120). Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 1 (4): 329–43. PMC 2424120
([Link] PMID 18568113 ([Link]
[Link]/18568113).
12. Jaradat, Da’san M. M. (1 January 2018). "Thirteen decades of peptide synthesis: key
developments in solid phase peptide synthesis and amide bond formation utilized in peptide
ligation" ([Link] Amino Acids. 50 (1): 39–68.
doi:10.1007/s00726-017-2516-0 ([Link]
ISSN 1438-2199 ([Link] PMID 29185032 ([Link]
[Link]/29185032). S2CID 254087824 ([Link]
sID:254087824).
13. Fischer, Emil (1906) Untersuchungen über aminosäuern, polypeptide und proteine ([Link]
[Link]/details/untersuchungenb01fiscgoog/page/n8/mode/2up) via Internet Archive
14. Fruton, Joseph S. (1985). "Contrasts in Scientific Style. Emil Fischer and Franz Hofmeister:
Their Research Groups and Their Theory of Protein Structure" ([Link]
86934). Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 129 (4): 313–370. ISSN 0003-
049X ([Link] JSTOR 986934 ([Link]
ble/986934). PMID 11621201 ([Link]
15. "Emil Fischer - Facts" ([Link] The
Nobel Prize Organization. Retrieved 30 March 2020.>
16. "Emil Fischer" ([Link]
html). [Link]. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
17. "Emil Fischer" ([Link] American Academy of Arts &
Sciences. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
18. "APS Member History" ([Link]
&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advance
d). [Link]. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
19. Pichler, Helmut (1967). "Franz Fischer, 1877–1947" ([Link]
000642). Chemische Berichte (in German). 100 (6): CXXVII–CLVII.
doi:10.1002/cber.19671000642 ([Link]
"From My Life", an English translation of "Aus Meinem Leben", Emil Fischer's autobiography. D. M.
and E. J. Behrman, Springer Verlag, 2022.

External links
Emil Fischer ([Link] on [Link] including his
Nobel Lecture Nobel Lecture, 12 December 1902 Syntheses in the Purine and Sugar Group
Eminent Chemists of Our Time ([Link]
238) By Benjamin Harrow pages 216–239, published 1920 by Von Nostrand Company at
[Link].
Aders Plimmer, R. H. (July 1907). "The work of Emil Fischer and his school on the chemistry
of the proteins" ([Link]
=106). Science Progress in the Twentieth Century. 2 (5): 88–120.
Guide to the Emil Fischer Papers ([Link]
at The Bancroft Library
Text-book of Physiological Chemistry in Thirty Lectures ([Link]
=fraaVP7NeOEC&pg=PA149) by Emil Abderhalden, translated by William Thomas Hall and
George Defren; published 1908 by Wiley Company, has many technical references to
Fischer's work in Chemistry.
American Journal of Diseases of Children 1911 ([Link]
AAAYAAJ&pg=PA189) volume 2 by the American Medical Association also refers to
Fischer's work.
An Introduction to the History of Medicine: With Medical Chronology ([Link]
om/books?id=JvoIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA708) by Fielding Hudson Garrison, page 708 refers to
Fischer and Merings discovery of the drugs veronal(1904) and proponal(1905), published
1921 by Saunders Company.
1914 Year Book of the American Pharmaceutical Association ([Link]
ks?id=8URLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA438), page 438 abstracts Fischer and Strauss's work on
Phenol-Glucosides – Synthetic Production from Berlin d.D Chem. Germany, page 45(1912)
No. 12.
 Texts on Wikisource:
"Fischer, Emil". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
"Fischer, Emil". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
"Fischer, Emil". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.

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