Henry Drysdale Dakin
Encyclopedia
Henry Drysdale Dakin FRS (1880–1952) was an English
chemist
.
He was born in London
as the youngest of 8 children to a family of steel merchants from Leeds
. As a school boy he did water analysis with the Leeds City Analyst. He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds
with Julius B. Cohen
and after he worked with Albrecht Kossel
on arginase
at the University of Heidelberg he joined Columbia University
in 1905, working in the lab of Christian Herter
. During his work on amino acids he obtained his PhD from Leeds.
In 1914 he went back to England to offer his service with the war effort. Due to a request for a chemist by Alexis Carrel
to the Rockefeller Institute, Dakin joined Carrel in 1916 at a temporary hospital in Compiègne
. There they developed the Carrel-Dakin method of wound treatments. This consisted of intermittently irrigating the wound with Dakin's solution. This solution is a highly diluted antiseptic, consisting of sodium hypochlorite (0.4% to 0.5%) and boric acid
(4%). It is unstable and deteriorates within a few days, and must be made as needed. Since 1982 a modified, more stable Dakin's Solution has been commercially available from Century Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
After he married the widow of Christian Herter
in 1916, he worked in his private laboratory in Scarsdale, New York
and had several close collaborations with other scientists. His main working fields were amino acids and enzymes. The extraction of amino acids from hydrolyzed peptides by butanol was invented by him. He also was interested in organic chemistry and synthesis yielding the Dakin reaction
and the Dakin-West reaction
.
He died shortly after the death of his wife in early 1952.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
.
He was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as the youngest of 8 children to a family of steel merchants from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. As a school boy he did water analysis with the Leeds City Analyst. He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
with Julius B. Cohen
Julius B. Cohen
Julius Berend Cohen FRS was an English chemist. He studied chemistry with Hans von Pechmann at the University of Munich...
and after he worked with Albrecht Kossel
Albrecht Kossel
Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel was a German biochemist and pioneer in the study of genetics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1910 for his work in determining the chemical composition of nucleic acids, the genetic substance of biological cells.Kossel...
on arginase
Arginase
Arginase is a manganese-containing enzyme. The reaction catalyzed by this enzyme is: arginine + H2O → ornithine + urea. It is the final enzyme of the urea cycle.- Structure and function :Arginase belong to the ureohydrolase family of enzymes....
at the University of Heidelberg he joined Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1905, working in the lab of Christian Herter
Christian Archibald Herter (physician)
-Further reading:...
. During his work on amino acids he obtained his PhD from Leeds.
In 1914 he went back to England to offer his service with the war effort. Due to a request for a chemist by Alexis Carrel
Alexis Carrel
Alexis Carrel was a French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques. He invented the first perfusion pump with Charles A. Lindbergh opening the way to organ transplantation...
to the Rockefeller Institute, Dakin joined Carrel in 1916 at a temporary hospital in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
. There they developed the Carrel-Dakin method of wound treatments. This consisted of intermittently irrigating the wound with Dakin's solution. This solution is a highly diluted antiseptic, consisting of sodium hypochlorite (0.4% to 0.5%) and boric acid
Boric acid
Boric acid, also called hydrogen borate or boracic acid or orthoboric acid or acidum boricum, is a weak acid of boron often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor of other chemical compounds. It exists in the form of colorless crystals or a...
(4%). It is unstable and deteriorates within a few days, and must be made as needed. Since 1982 a modified, more stable Dakin's Solution has been commercially available from Century Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
After he married the widow of Christian Herter
Christian Archibald Herter (physician)
-Further reading:...
in 1916, he worked in his private laboratory in Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale, New York
Scarsdale is a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the northern suburbs of New York City. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages...
and had several close collaborations with other scientists. His main working fields were amino acids and enzymes. The extraction of amino acids from hydrolyzed peptides by butanol was invented by him. He also was interested in organic chemistry and synthesis yielding the Dakin reaction
Dakin reaction
The Dakin oxidation is an organic redox reaction in which an ortho- or para-hydroxylated phenyl aldehyde or ketone reacts with hydrogen peroxide in base to form a benzenediol and a carboxylate[3]...
and the Dakin-West reaction
Dakin-West reaction
The Dakin–West reaction is a chemical reaction that transforms an amino-acid into a keto-amide using an acid anhydride and a base, typically pyridine. It is named for Henry Drysdale Dakin and Randolph West . Of special note, the keto-amide product is always racemic.With pyridine as a base and...
.
He died shortly after the death of his wife in early 1952.