Pietro Biginelli
Encyclopedia
Pietro Biginelli was an Italian chemist, who have discovered a three-component reaction between urea
, acetoacetic ester
and aldehyde
s (Biginelli reaction
). He also was studying various aspects of sanitation chemistry and chemical products' quality control.
which was back then the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia
. He attended the University of Torino, studying under Professor Icilio Guareschi
, a well-known Italian chemist and chemistry historian. It is known that at 1885 he was already a 4th year student.
By 1891 Biginelli works at the chemical laboratory at Florence University, where 2 years later he develops a method which later will be known as Biginelli Pyrimidine synthesis. At 1897 he is already at Rome, as a privatdozent
.
At 1901 Pietro Biginelli, as coadjutor, moves to the Chemical Laboratory of State Medicine in Rome, where he was working as an assistant to Bartolomeo Gosio, a chemist famous for discovery of arsenic-containing volatile gas known as “Gosio gas”.
From 1925 to 1928 Biginelli worked as a director of the above-mentioned Chemical Laboratory.
He died in Rome, at January 15, 1937.
, was focused on synthesis and reactivity of chlorobromonaphtalene.
Already in the University of Florence, Biginelli described a three-component reaction between urea
, aldehyde
, and ethyl acetoacetate
, which was at first incorrectly interpreted as one leading to the formation of alpha-benzuramido-crotonacetic ester, or ethyl-alpha-salicyluramido-crotonate with open-chain acyclic structures. However, later he corrected himself and expanded his initial studies, showing that the end products actually were pyrimidines. However, Biginelli did not change the chemical names presented earlier.
Another scope of his research interests emerged when he was an assistant to Bartolomeo Gosio. At that time, it was known that certain poisonous volatile arsenic species tend to form at molds growing on wallpapers painted by arsenic-containing paints. Finally Gosio and Biginelli succeeded in isolating and analyzing the species: when Gosio gas was passed into a solution of mercuric chloride in dilute HCl (Biginelli’s solution) a crystalline precipitate was formed.
A small vial of the Gosio/Biginelli mercurichloride is to this day preserved at The Museum of the History of Medicine (Museo di Storia della Medicina) in Rome, Italy. Under the printed name “Laboratorio Batteriologico della Sanità Pubblica” is handwritten, “arsina penicillare comp. mercurico”. From analysis of this material and of the gas itself it appeared that the gas was diethylarsine. Later, however, it was found that gas discovered by Gosio and Biginelli was in fact trimethylarsine.
Pietro Biginelli stated in 1911 that tannin
has the formula C41H32O25 and that it was probably a glucoside. These conclusions were based on the property shown by tannin of forming additive products with water, alcohol, and ether, (which is stable even in vacuum) and also on the loss of carbon dioxide and water with formation of hexahydroxybenzophenone, when tannin is heated in aqueous solution with lead dioxide (the amount of carbon dioxide liberated was estimated).
In 1914, Biginelli showed that aristoquinine and quinine carbonate placed in market by Bayer
and Zimmer in 1898 were not the salts of carbonic acid, that true quinine carbonate is very bitter, that their action on the organism is slight and slow compared with that of quinine, and that euquinine is ethyl quinine carboxylate, C20H23O2N2 .COOC2H5, and aristochin, carbonylquinine,
(C20H23O2N2 ) 2CO.
After leaving his post as a director of Chemical Laboratory of State Medicine, Biginelli, as he himself stated, focused mainly on the problems of chemical commodity research, e.g. distinguishing between true and false tannates of commercial quinine, artificial tannins, etc.
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
, acetoacetic ester
Ethyl acetoacetate
The organic compound ethyl acetoacetate is the ethyl ester of acetoacetic acid. It is mainly used as a chemical intermediate in the production of a wide variety of compounds, such as amino acids, analgesics, antibiotics, antimalarial agents, antipyrine and aminopyrine, and vitamin B1; as well as...
and aldehyde
Aldehyde
An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....
s (Biginelli reaction
Biginelli reaction
The Biginelli reaction is a multiple-component chemical reaction that creates 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones 4 from ethyl acetoacetate 1, an aryl aldehyde , and urea 3. It is named for the Italian chemist Pietro Biginelli.This reaction was developed by Pietro Biginelli in 1891...
). He also was studying various aspects of sanitation chemistry and chemical products' quality control.
Biography
He was born at July 25, 1860 in Palazzolo VercellesePalazzolo Vercellese
Palazzolo Vercellese is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 45 km northeast of Turin and about 20 km southwest of Vercelli...
which was back then the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia
Piedmont-Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia or Sardinia, also Piedmont-Sardinia, Sardinia-Piedmont or Piemonte, refers to the states of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards, following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague...
. He attended the University of Torino, studying under Professor Icilio Guareschi
Icilio Guareschi
Icilio Guareschi was an Italian chemist.Icilio Guareschi studied at the University of Bologna and got his Ph.D there in 1871...
, a well-known Italian chemist and chemistry historian. It is known that at 1885 he was already a 4th year student.
By 1891 Biginelli works at the chemical laboratory at Florence University, where 2 years later he develops a method which later will be known as Biginelli Pyrimidine synthesis. At 1897 he is already at Rome, as a privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
.
At 1901 Pietro Biginelli, as coadjutor, moves to the Chemical Laboratory of State Medicine in Rome, where he was working as an assistant to Bartolomeo Gosio, a chemist famous for discovery of arsenic-containing volatile gas known as “Gosio gas”.
From 1925 to 1928 Biginelli worked as a director of the above-mentioned Chemical Laboratory.
He died in Rome, at January 15, 1937.
Scientific interests
Pietro Biginelli’s first known scientific work, in which he was a co-author to his mentor Icilio GuareschiIcilio Guareschi
Icilio Guareschi was an Italian chemist.Icilio Guareschi studied at the University of Bologna and got his Ph.D there in 1871...
, was focused on synthesis and reactivity of chlorobromonaphtalene.
Already in the University of Florence, Biginelli described a three-component reaction between urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
, aldehyde
Aldehyde
An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....
, and ethyl acetoacetate
Ethyl acetoacetate
The organic compound ethyl acetoacetate is the ethyl ester of acetoacetic acid. It is mainly used as a chemical intermediate in the production of a wide variety of compounds, such as amino acids, analgesics, antibiotics, antimalarial agents, antipyrine and aminopyrine, and vitamin B1; as well as...
, which was at first incorrectly interpreted as one leading to the formation of alpha-benzuramido-crotonacetic ester, or ethyl-alpha-salicyluramido-crotonate with open-chain acyclic structures. However, later he corrected himself and expanded his initial studies, showing that the end products actually were pyrimidines. However, Biginelli did not change the chemical names presented earlier.
Another scope of his research interests emerged when he was an assistant to Bartolomeo Gosio. At that time, it was known that certain poisonous volatile arsenic species tend to form at molds growing on wallpapers painted by arsenic-containing paints. Finally Gosio and Biginelli succeeded in isolating and analyzing the species: when Gosio gas was passed into a solution of mercuric chloride in dilute HCl (Biginelli’s solution) a crystalline precipitate was formed.
A small vial of the Gosio/Biginelli mercurichloride is to this day preserved at The Museum of the History of Medicine (Museo di Storia della Medicina) in Rome, Italy. Under the printed name “Laboratorio Batteriologico della Sanità Pubblica” is handwritten, “arsina penicillare comp. mercurico”. From analysis of this material and of the gas itself it appeared that the gas was diethylarsine. Later, however, it was found that gas discovered by Gosio and Biginelli was in fact trimethylarsine.
Pietro Biginelli stated in 1911 that tannin
Tannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
has the formula C41H32O25 and that it was probably a glucoside. These conclusions were based on the property shown by tannin of forming additive products with water, alcohol, and ether, (which is stable even in vacuum) and also on the loss of carbon dioxide and water with formation of hexahydroxybenzophenone, when tannin is heated in aqueous solution with lead dioxide (the amount of carbon dioxide liberated was estimated).
In 1914, Biginelli showed that aristoquinine and quinine carbonate placed in market by Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
and Zimmer in 1898 were not the salts of carbonic acid, that true quinine carbonate is very bitter, that their action on the organism is slight and slow compared with that of quinine, and that euquinine is ethyl quinine carboxylate, C20H23O2N2 .COOC2H5, and aristochin, carbonylquinine,
(C20H23O2N2 ) 2CO.
After leaving his post as a director of Chemical Laboratory of State Medicine, Biginelli, as he himself stated, focused mainly on the problems of chemical commodity research, e.g. distinguishing between true and false tannates of commercial quinine, artificial tannins, etc.