Ulrich Weiss (chemist)

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Ulrich Weiss (born January 24, 1908 in Prague , † July 15, 1989 in Denpasar , Bali ) was a Czech-American chemist.

Life

Ulrich Weiss was born in Prague on January 24, 1908. He studied chemistry there and obtained his doctorate at the age of 22. When the National Socialists annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939, Ulrich fled to Brussels with his wife Anna Weiss (daughter of Otto Loewi ). After further stays in Belgium and France, Ulrich and Anna Weiss arrived in New York with their daughter Ruth in 1941. In Bethesda, Maryland, they built a new life for themselves and in 1957 Weiss began his work at the NIH ( National Institutes of Health ). There he worked as a chemist until his retirement in 1978, when he became a "Scientist Emeritus " at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Weiss died on July 15, 1989 at the age of 81.

Act

Ulrich Weiss was an exceptional scientist and an asset to his colleagues and employees. He had a wide range of interests in chemistry and a very good memory, which is why many of his colleagues were able to benefit from his enormous knowledge. Organic chemistry , natural product and colloid chemistry and the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds aroused his greatest interest .

He explored morphine , an opium - alkaloid , and the derivatives of morphine and their structure and published his results on this topic in more than 25 publications.

When he was working on the biosynthesis of aromatics , he was able to elucidate the structure of prephenic acid , an important intermediate in biosynthesis. A book “ The Biosynthesis of Aromatic Compounds ” was written about this discovery in 1980 , on which Weiss collaborated.

The synthesis of bicyclic diketones, in which four carbon-carbon bonds are formed, is called the Weiss reaction after its discoverer . In the literature one can also find the terms Weiss-Cook condensation , Weiss-Cook reaction and Weiss-Cook process . The reaction is characterized by the use of simple educts that react to form complex products.

Ulrich published a total of 130 publications on organic chemistry and natural products. He was also very well read and was well versed in chemistry, botany, plant physiology, minerals and fossils, and medicinal chemistry .

literature

  • Kenner C. Rice, James M. Cook: In Memoriam: Ulrich Weiss . In: National Institute on Drug Abuse (Ed.): National Institute on Drug Abuse Researches 105 . Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 1991, pp. 130-132 ((ADM) 91-1753).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ External identifiers or database links for prephenic acid : CAS number: 126-49-8, PubChem : 1028 , ChemSpider : 16735981 , DrugBank : DB08427 , Wikidata : Q2598317 .
  2. ^ Zerong Wang: Comprehensive Organic Name Reactions and Reagents . John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-471-70450-8 , pp. 2968-2973 .
  3. ^ T. Laue, A. Plagens: Name and keyword reactions of organic chemistry . 5th edition. BG Teubner, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 978-3-8351-0091-6 , p. 339-341 .
personal data
SURNAME Weiss, Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American chemist
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 1989
Place of death Denpasar , Bali