David Adriaan van Dorp
Encyclopedia
David 'Davy' Adriaan van Dorp (Amsterdam
April 27, 1915 - Vlaardingen
February 19, 1995) was a Dutch
chemist
.
Van Dorp was born as the son of Hendrik van Dorp and Maria van Dorp, and studied chemistry in Amsterdam where he received a PhD for his thesis Aneurine en gistphosphatase in 1941.
In 1946, while employed by the Dutch Organon
company in Oss
, Van Dorp and Jozef Ferdinand Arens ('Coco') published the synthesis for vitamin A acid in the scientific journal Nature. In 1947, they completed the first full synthesis for the complex compound vitamin A
, by taking the final step and turning the acid in an alcohol. Their synthesis was not to be used for commercial production, as an alternative route that was published soon after by Otto Isler and co-workers (Hoffmann-La Roche
) turned out to be much more suited for upscaling.
Van Dorp joined the Unilever
Research Laboratory in Vlaardingen
in 1959, and was a key person in the studies regarding the role of arachidonic acid
in the metabolic pathway to prostaglandin
E2, in close cooperation with Sune K. Bergström who would later receive a Nobel prize
for his work on prostaglandins.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
April 27, 1915 - Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
February 19, 1995) was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
.
Van Dorp was born as the son of Hendrik van Dorp and Maria van Dorp, and studied chemistry in Amsterdam where he received a PhD for his thesis Aneurine en gistphosphatase in 1941.
In 1946, while employed by the Dutch Organon
Organon
The Organon is the name given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics, to the standard collection of his six works on logic:* Categories* On Interpretation* Prior Analytics* Posterior Analytics...
company in Oss
Oss
Oss is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands, in the province of Noord Brabant.- Population centres :-Transportation:* Railway stations: Oss, Oss West, Ravenstein- The city of Oss :...
, Van Dorp and Jozef Ferdinand Arens ('Coco') published the synthesis for vitamin A acid in the scientific journal Nature. In 1947, they completed the first full synthesis for the complex compound vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
, by taking the final step and turning the acid in an alcohol. Their synthesis was not to be used for commercial production, as an alternative route that was published soon after by Otto Isler and co-workers (Hoffmann-La Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
) turned out to be much more suited for upscaling.
Van Dorp joined the Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
Research Laboratory in Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
in 1959, and was a key person in the studies regarding the role of arachidonic acid
Arachidonic acid
Arachidonic acid is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid 20:4.It is the counterpart to the saturated arachidic acid found in peanut oil, Arachidonic acid (AA, sometimes ARA) is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid 20:4(ω-6).It is the counterpart to the saturated arachidic acid found in peanut oil,...
in the metabolic pathway to prostaglandin
Prostaglandin
A prostaglandin is any member of a group of lipid compounds that are derived enzymatically from fatty acids and have important functions in the animal body. Every prostaglandin contains 20 carbon atoms, including a 5-carbon ring....
E2, in close cooperation with Sune K. Bergström who would later receive a Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for his work on prostaglandins.