Wilhelm Schuler

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Wilhelm Schuler (1977)

Wilhelm Schuler (born December 27, 1914 in Ulm ; † June 5, 2010 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) became known as a chemist, inventor and entrepreneur in the second half of the 20th century.

Life

Schuler studied chemistry at the Technical University of the Free City of Danzig ( TH Danzig ) since 1934 . After the main chemistry examination, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1939. However, he was released after six months, as Paul Rabe ( University of Hamburg ) reclaimed him for important research in the field of pharmaceuticals for the TH Danzig. So he was able to continue his research and received his doctorate in 1941 . He carried out this work in the working group of Henry Albers - whose doctoral supervisor was Paul Rabe - in organic chemistry. Schuler researched organic phosphorus compounds. He then remained assistant to Henry Albers at the TH Danzig and worked on alkaloids. Schuler has been doing his habilitation thesis at TH Danzig since 1944. Shortly before the end of the war, he moved to the University of Hamburg. In Ilse Esdorn's (1897–1985) working group, he worked there on the analysis of natural substances , especially alkaloids , glucosides and slime in medicinal plants . In doing so, he discovered a process for the production of a gelling agent from heather , which was used in the food and cosmetic industries. Schuler issued a license to the Spangenberg company. With the income from the license, the 32-year-old Schuler founded the company Dr. Schuler & Lange, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Laboratory GmbH, Hamburg. So began his career as an independent entrepreneur. Schuler & Lange dealt with the manufacture of medicinal substances and with pharmaceutical contract research. The main client for the chemical-synthetic research was the Promonta company, which later became part of the Byk Gulden group (today Altana ). From this work emerged - in cooperation with the biologist and pharmacologist Otto Nieschulz - some successful medicinal substances, such as

The Degussa AG offered Wilhelm Schuler at an unusual contract, which allowed him to continue his private business' activities parallel and extend. 1953 Schuler joined the Degussa subsidiary ( Chemiewerk Homburg ) as head of drug research . Schuler was extremely creative and successful as a drug researcher. By applying the azalogy principle (replacement of "= CH–" with the isoelectronic "= N–") he succeeded in developing new drugs. Schuler succeeded for the first time in the synthesis of 4-azaphenothiazine , a key compound for the production of the drugs prothipendyl [Dominal ® (D)], isothipendyl [Andantol ® (D)] and pipacetate [Selvigon ® (D)], which Schuler invented and patented were. Schuler has also initiated the development of the successful active ingredients Fenetylline [Captagon ® (D)], Mefenorex [Rondimen ® (D)] and Oxyfedrine [Ildamen ® (D)]. In 1960 he expanded his private entrepreneurial activities to Ireland and founded the Loftus Bryan company. Twenty years later he sold this company to the US pharmaceutical company Schering-Plow . In 1982 Wilhelm Schuler and his daughter founded the Iropharm company in Ireland, which dealt with the synthesis of patent-free antidepressants that are accessible through the Grignard reaction . This company has since been sold to Sigma-Aldrich .

Wilhelm Schuler restructured chemical research at Degussa AG. Schuler sponsored the development of ion exchangers for use in the detergent industry, the development of car exhaust catalysts and numerous other strategically and economically relevant research and development projects, some of which are still economically important for Evonik Degussa GmbH and other companies today. The chemists Gunther Dittrich, Rudolf Fahnenstich, Axel Kleemann , Peter Kleinschmit, Heribert Offermanns and Gerd Schreyer (selection) were sustainably motivated and promoted by Schuler. He lived in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe for a long time and is buried there. Schuler leaves behind a daughter.

literature

  • Always an idea better , published by Degussa AG, Frankfurt am Main 1998, there pages 238–258 essay by Axel Kleemann “Structure of a modern chemical research - Wilhelm Schuler”, ISBN 3-00-002389-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Rabe and Wilhelm Schuler: The synthesis of the 6'-methoxy-9-oxy-rubane - a contribution to the mode of action of quinine and quinidines , reports of the German Chemical Society 76 (1948) 318.
  2. ^ A. Gross, K. Thiele, W. Schuler and A. von Schlichtegroll: Studies of 2-Chloro-4-azaphenothiazines: Synthesis and pharmacological properties of Cloxypendyl , Arzneimittel-Forschung 18 (1968) 435.
  3. ↑ (a) Wilhelm Schuler and Hans Klebe: 4-azaphenothiazines and their 10-aminoalkyl derivatives , Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 653 (1962) 172-180. (b) Wilhelm Schuler, A. von Schlichtegroll: Syntheses of 4-aza phenothiazines . Part 2: Derivatives of 4-azaphenothiazine-10-carboxylic acid , Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 673 (1964) 102. (c) Bernhard Kutscher, Hans Reinhold Dieter, Hans-Günther Trömer, Beate Bartz, Jürgen Engel and Axel Kleemann : New Synthesis von 4-Azaphenothiazin , Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 1995 , 591-592.
  4. ^ H. Offermanns : Azalogie-Prinzip: hin und zurück , Nachrichten aus der Chemie 59 (2011) 1152–1153.
personal data
SURNAME Schuler, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist, inventor and independent entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Ulm
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 2010
Place of death Bad Homburg vor der Höhe