Gregorio Weber

Gregorio Weber (* 4. July 1916 in Buenos Aires ; † 18th July 1997 in Urbana , Illinois ) was a native to Argentina originating American biochemist . With his work, he laid the foundation for modern fluorescence spectroscopy and made significant contributions to the chemistry and dynamics of proteins .

Life

Gregorio Weber studied at the Universidad de Buenos Aires , where he graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1942 . During his studies he was assistant to Bernardo Alberto Houssay , who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947 . Houssay's nomination for a British Council Fellowship enabled Weber to study at the University of Cambridge in England, where he received his doctorate in biochemistry in 1947 under Malcolm Dixon . The focus of his work was the investigation of the fluorescence of flavins and flavoproteins , which today is considered the beginning of the establishment of fluorescence spectroscopy as a quantitative method in biochemistry. Weber stayed in Cambridge in the early 1950s and did research in the field of fluorescence polarization , inspired by the work of the French physicist Francis Perrin .

In 1953, Hans Adolf Krebs brought him to the newly founded Faculty of Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield , where he began to lay the foundation for modern fluorescence spectroscopy, both through the theoretical description of fluorescence and the development of measurement methods and technology. Until the beginning of the 1960s he investigated the intrinsic fluorescence of proteins caused by aromatic amino acids with FW John Teale, among others , and developed a method for the absolute determination of the quantum yield . In 1962, on the initiative of Irwin Clyde Gunsalus, he went to the United States at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , where he became professor of biochemistry. Gregorio Weber worked at the university until his death in 1997 (from 1986 professor emeritus ) and in 1971 took American citizenship .

In addition to dansyl chloride , which Weber had already synthesized during his time in Cambridge, he designed and synthesized a large number of other dyes for fluorescent labeling , including IAEDANS and Laurdan . Weber demonstrated fast movements of the protein domains in the nanosecond range through the fluorescence quenching with molecular oxygen, which diffused through the protein structure, which was assumed to be rigid, and thus opened the research area of protein dynamics . Together with Richard D. Spencer he developed a phase modulation fluorescence spectrometer for determining the fluorescence lifetime , the principle of which is still used today.

Awards (selection)

• 1969: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1971: Member of the National Academy of Exact Sciences of Argentina (Corresponding Member)
• 1975: Member of the National Academy of Sciences
• 1980: Rumford Prize (American Academy of Arts and Sciences)
• 1983: Isco Award ( University of Nebraska-Lincoln )
• 1986: Repligen Corporation Award in the Chemistry of Biological Processes ( American Chemical Society , ACS)
• 1997: International Jablonski Award (Biophysical Society, Biological Fluorescence Subgroup)

Publications (selection)

• G. Weber: Polarization of the fluorescence of macromolecules. 1. Theory and experimental method. In: Biochemical Journal. Volume 51, No. 2, 1952, pp. 145-155. PMC 1197814 (free full text)
• G. Weber: Polarization of the fluorescence of macromolecules. 2. Polarization of the fluorescence of labeled protein molecules. In: Biochemical Journal. Volume 51, No. 2, 1952, pp. 155-164. PMC 1197815 (free full text)
• G. Weber: Rotational Brownian Motion and Polarization of the Fluorescence of Solutions. In: Advances in Protein Chemistry. Volume 8, 1953, pp. 415-459, doi: 10.1016 / S0065-3233 (08) 60096-0 .
• G. Weber, FWJ Teale: Ultraviolet fluorescence of aromatic amino acids. In: Biochemical Journal. Vol. 65, No. 3, 1957, pp. 476-482. PMC 1199900 (free full text)
• G. Weber, FWJ Teale: Determination of the absolute quantum yield of fluorescent solutions. In: Transactions of the Faraday Society. Volume 53, 1957, pp. 646-655, doi: 10.1039 / TF9575300646 .
• G. Weber: Fluorescence-polarization spectrum and electronic-energy transfer in proteins. In: Biochemical Journal. Volume 75, No. 2, 1960, pp. 345-152. PMC 1204431 (free full text)
• RD Spencer, G. Weber: Measurement of subnanosecond fluorescence lifetimes with a cross-correlation phase fluorometer. In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences . Volume 158, 1969, pp. 361-376, doi: 10.1111 / j.1749-6632.1969.tb56231.x .
• G. Weber, JR Lakowicz : Quenching of protein fluorescence by oxygen. Detection of structural fluctuations in proteins in the nanosecond time scale. In: Biochemistry. Volume 12, No. 21, 1973, pp. 4171-4179, doi: 10.1021 / bi00745a021 .
• G. Weber: Theory of differential phase fluorometry: Detection of anisotropic molecular rotations. In: The Journal of Chemical Physics. Volume 66, No. 9, 1977, pp. 4081-4091, doi: 10.1063 / 1.434481 .
• G. Weber: Protein Interactions. Springer, 1992, ISBN 0-412-03031-4 .

literature

• David M. Jameson: Gregorio Weber, 1916-1997: A Fluorescent Lifetime. In: Biophysical Journal. Volume 75, 1998, pp. 419-421, PMC 1299713 (free full text).
• David M. Jameson: The Seminal Contributions of Gregorio Weber to Modern Fluorescence Spectroscopy. In: B. Valeur, J.-C. Brochon (Ed.): New Trends in Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Volume 1, Springer, 2001, ISBN 3-540-67779-8 , ISBN 978-3-642-56853-4 , pp. 35-58.

Web links

• Gregorio Weber, 1916-1997. Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD), University of California, Irvine.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Wolfgang Saxon: Gregorio Weber, 81, Biochemist And Innovator in Spectroscopy. The New York Times , July 29, 1997. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
2. ^ Gregorio Weber: Fluorescence of riboflavin, diaphorase and related substances. PhD Thesis in Biochemistry, St John's College, University of Cambridge, 1947.
3. ^ David M. Jameson: The Seminal Contributions of Gregorio Weber to Modern Fluorescence Spectroscopy. In: B. Valeur, J.-C. Brochon (Ed.): New Trends in Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Volume 1, Springer, 2001, pp. 35-58, here pp. 35-42.
4. ^ David M. Jameson: The Seminal Contributions of Gregorio Weber to Modern Fluorescence Spectroscopy. In: B. Valeur, J.-C. Brochon (Ed.): New Trends in Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Volume 1, Springer, 2001, pp. 35-58, here pp. 42-45.
5. ^ David M. Jameson: The Seminal Contributions of Gregorio Weber to Modern Fluorescence Spectroscopy. In: B. Valeur, J.-C. Brochon (Ed.): New Trends in Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Volume 1, Springer, 2001, pp. 35-58, here pp. 45 f.
6. ↑ David M. Jameson: Gregorio Weber, 1916–1997: A Fluorescent Lifetime. In: Biophysical Journal. Volume 75, 1998, pp. 419-421, PMC 1299713 (free full text).
7. ^ Joseph R. Lakowicz: Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy. 3rd edition, Springer, 2006, ISBN 978-0-387-31278-1 , p. 163.
8. ^ Book of Members, Chapter W. American Academy of Arts & Sciences, p. 580. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
9. ^ Gregorio Weber Vitae The University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
10. ^ Gregorio Weber, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. National Academy of Sciences, Deceased Members. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
11. ^ Winner of the Isco Award. ( Memento of July 8, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Chemistry. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
12. ^ Winner of the Repligen Corporation Award in the Chemistry of Biological Processes. American Chemical Society, Division of Biological Chemistry. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
13. ^ Winner of the International Jablonski Award 1997-2000. Nicolaus Copernicus University of Toruń , Faculty of Physics and Astronomy. Retrieved July 11, 2014.