Henry Drysdale Dakin

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Henry Drysdale Dakin (born March 12, 1880 in London , † February 10, 1952 in New York ) was an English chemist. Together with Randolph West , he discovered the Dakin-West reaction in 1928 .

Life

Dakin was born in London and his family moved to Leeds when he was 13. In 1898 he began studying at the University of Leeds , where he made a bachelor's degree in 1901.

In 1902 he went to the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London. Here he researched enzymes for the first time, which later became his main area of ​​research. A short time later he went to Heidelberg, where he was researching the enzyme arginase under Albrecht Kossel . In 1904 he returned to the Lister Institute in London, where he continued to research enzymes. From 1905 he worked with Christian A. Herter in New York in his research institute. In 1909 Dakin received his doctorate from the University of Leeds.

When Christian A. Herter died a year later, Dakin took over the management of the institute. In 1914 he began to test hundreds of substances for their antiseptic effect and tolerability, as Lister's discovery, carbol ( phenol ) and chemical wound treatment in general had fallen into disrepute among surgeons. In doing so, he discovered the effectiveness of chloramines and sodium hypochlorite . The latter was known to Antoine Germain Labarraque as early as 1822 , but had been forgotten again. Hypochlorite solution (later known as Dakin's solution ) then also helped to reduce Allied losses in World War I , although there was still great resistance to be overcome by the surgeons.

In 1916, Dakin married Herter's widow, with whom he bought a house near New York two years later, in which he also set up his own laboratory, in which he did research for the rest of his life. He published his scientific findings by 1946, and died in his home in 1952.

Awards

In 1941 he was awarded the Davy Medal .

literature

  • Alexis Carrel: The treatment of infected wounds. London, Baillère. 1918

Works

  • Oxidations and Reductions in the Animal Body. London, 1912. 2nd edition 1922.
  • Add. with Edward. K. Dunham: A Handbook on Antiseptics. New York, 1917.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dakin, Henry Drysdale
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English chemist
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1952
Place of death near New York