Vladimir Prelog
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Prelog FRS (July 23, 1906 – January 7, 1998) was a Croatian
chemist
and Nobel Prize
winner in chemistry
. Prelog lived and worked in Prague
, Zagreb
and Zürich
during his lifetime.
, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Croatian parents who were working there. In 1915, as a child, Prelog moved to Zagreb
(Croatia
) with his parents. He started gymnasium
in Osijek
and completed it in Zagreb, and then moved to Prague
where he graduated from the Czech Institute of Technology
in 1929, receiving a degree as a chemical engineer
. His teacher was Emil Votoček
, while his assistant Rudolf Lukeš introduced him to the world of organic chemistry
.
After gaining the Sc.D.
in chemistry, he started to work in the private plant laboratory of G.J. Dríza in Prague, in charge of the production of rare chemicals that were not available on the market at that time. His pastime was spent in his own research, where he started investigating alkaloids from the cacao bark.
, where he took the post of lecturer in organic chemistry
. He also taught students of chemical engineering
.
With the help of collaborators and students, and financially sponsored by the pharmaceutical factory "Kaštel" (currently Pliva
), he started research of quinine
and its compounds. Final works with the industry yielded a financially successful production of Streptazol, one of the first commercial sulfonamide
s.
Scientific work here was crowned with the first synthesis
of adamantane
, a hydrocarbon
with an unusual alicyclic
structure, being isolated from Moravia
n oil field
s.
The results of Prelog's work have been published in the top European chemical literature and journals, while the organic chemistry
developed in Zagreb at that time was well known and identifiable around the world.
and left for Zürich
, Switzerland
, to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
(ETH, or Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule). He was promoted, starting as private senior lecturer and ending up becoming professor
.
Prelog was able to separate the chiral
enantiomer
s of Tröger's base
in 1944 by chromatography
on an optically active substrate. With this chiral resolution
, he was able to prove that not only carbon
but also nitrogen
atoms can be the chiral centre in a molecule, which was speculated for several years.
After Ružička's retirement in 1957, Prelog took over the organic chemistry laboratory where he expanded its activity to unusual areas: heterocyclic compound
s, alkaloids, alicyclic compound
s, and the isolation and study of biochemically active compounds found in smaller quantities in animal organisms. He also studied the structure of antibiotic
s and the stereochemistry
of enzyme
reactions.
His research has contributed to the explanation of the structure of steroid
s, triterpene
, quinine, strychnine
, solanine
and other alkaloids introducing so-called Prelog's regulation, which defines the conformational relations between reactants and products. Working with Robert Cahn and Christopher Ingold
, he formulated the so-called CIP system, applied generally in stereometry.
Thanks to him and Ružička, Zürich has become one of the most significant centers of modern organic chemistry
.
for his works in the field of natural compound
s and stereochemistry
, sharing it with the Australian/British
research chemist John Cornforth.
His scientific opus encompasses more than 400 works. Lecturer of distinctive style and eloquence, he trained many generations of chemists. In 1986, he became an honorary member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
.
s about almost all eminent chemists all over the world. An intellectual with a wide cultural background, he never insisted on authority
and was unused to confrontation. As an introspective person, ironic and suspicious of high social, political or religious aspirations, Prelog rarely allowed people insight into his inner life. He was one of the 109 Nobel Prize winners who signed the peace appeal for Croatia in 1991.
Vladimir Prelog died in Zürich
, at the age of 91. An urn containing Prelog's ashes was ceremoniously interred at the Mirogoj cemetery
in Zagreb
on September 27, 2001. In 2008, a memorial to Prelog was unveiled in Prague.
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
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...
and 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...
winner in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. Prelog lived and worked in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
during his lifetime.
Biography
Prelog was born in SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to Croatian parents who were working there. In 1915, as a child, Prelog moved to Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
(Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
) with his parents. He started gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
and completed it in Zagreb, and then moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
where he graduated from the Czech Institute of Technology
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic, and the oldest institute of technology in Central Europe....
in 1929, receiving a degree as a chemical engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. His teacher was Emil Votoček
Emil Votocek
Emil Votoček was a Czech chemist, composer and music theorist. He is noted for his chemistry textbooks and multilingual dictionaries in both chemistry and music.-Chemistry career:...
, while his assistant Rudolf Lukeš introduced him to the world of organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
.
After gaining the Sc.D.
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
in chemistry, he started to work in the private plant laboratory of G.J. Dríza in Prague, in charge of the production of rare chemicals that were not available on the market at that time. His pastime was spent in his own research, where he started investigating alkaloids from the cacao bark.
Zagreb
In 1935, he was invited to join the Technical Faculty (Tehnički Fakultet) of the University of ZagrebUniversity of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
, where he took the post of lecturer in organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
. He also taught students of chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
.
With the help of collaborators and students, and financially sponsored by the pharmaceutical factory "Kaštel" (currently Pliva
Pliva
Pliva d.d. is a Croatian pharmaceutical company, based in Zagreb, Croatia. One of the world's largest producers of generic Adderall, it has seen drastic increases in revenue with an increasing number of patients being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder . It is the largest pharmaceutical...
), he started research of quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
and its compounds. Final works with the industry yielded a financially successful production of Streptazol, one of the first commercial sulfonamide
Sulfonamide (medicine)
Sulfonamide or sulphonamide is the basis of several groups of drugs. The original antibacterial sulfonamides are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group. Some sulfonamides are also devoid of antibacterial activity, e.g., the anticonvulsant sultiame...
s.
Scientific work here was crowned with the first synthesis
Chemical synthesis
In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...
of adamantane
Adamantane
Adamantane is a colorless, crystalline chemical compound with a camphor-like odor. With a formula C10H16, it is a cycloalkane and also the simplest diamondoid. Adamantane molecules consist of three cyclohexane rings arranged in the "armchair" configuration. It is unique in that it is both rigid...
, a hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
with an unusual alicyclic
Alicyclic compound
An alicyclic compound is an organic compound that is both aliphatic and cyclic. They contain one or more all-carbon rings which may be either saturated or unsaturated, but do not have aromatic character...
structure, being isolated from Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s.
The results of Prelog's work have been published in the top European chemical literature and journals, while the organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
developed in Zagreb at that time was well known and identifiable around the world.
Zürich
In 1941, he accepted the invitation of Lavoslav RužičkaLavoslav Ružicka
Lavoslav Ružička FRS born as Lavoslav Ružička was a Croatian scientist and winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry who worked most of his life in Switzerland...
and left for Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
(ETH, or Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule). He was promoted, starting as private senior lecturer and ending up becoming professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Prelog was able to separate the chiral
Chirality (chemistry)
A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that lacks an internal plane of symmetry and thus has a non-superimposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom....
enantiomer
Enantiomer
In chemistry, an enantiomer is one of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other that are non-superposable , much as one's left and right hands are the same except for opposite orientation. It can be clearly understood if you try to place your hands one over the other without...
s of Tröger's base
Tröger's base
Tröger's base is an organic compound that exhibits chirality due to the presence of two bridgehead stereogenic nitrogen atoms in its structure. The compound was first synthesised in 1887 from p-toluidine and formaldehyde in acid solution by Julius Tröger. It took until 1935 for the elucidation of...
in 1944 by chromatography
Chromatography
Chromatography is the collective term for a set of laboratory techniques for the separation of mixtures....
on an optically active substrate. With this chiral resolution
Chiral resolution
Chiral resolution in stereochemistry is a process for the separation of racemic compounds into their enantiomers. It is an important tool in the production of optically active drugs...
, he was able to prove that not only carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
but also nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
atoms can be the chiral centre in a molecule, which was speculated for several years.
After Ružička's retirement in 1957, Prelog took over the organic chemistry laboratory where he expanded its activity to unusual areas: heterocyclic compound
Heterocyclic compound
A heterocyclic compound is a cyclic compound which has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring. The counterparts of heterocyclic compounds are homocyclic compounds, the rings of which are made of a single element....
s, alkaloids, alicyclic compound
Alicyclic compound
An alicyclic compound is an organic compound that is both aliphatic and cyclic. They contain one or more all-carbon rings which may be either saturated or unsaturated, but do not have aromatic character...
s, and the isolation and study of biochemically active compounds found in smaller quantities in animal organisms. He also studied the structure of antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...
s and the stereochemistry
Stereochemistry
Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules. An important branch of stereochemistry is the study of chiral molecules....
of enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
reactions.
His research has contributed to the explanation of the structure of steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...
s, triterpene
Triterpene
Triterpenes are terpenes consisting of six isoprene units and have the molecular formula C30H48.The pentacyclic triterpenes can be classified into lupane, oleanane or ursane groups.Animal- and plant-derived triterpenes exist, such as:*squalene...
, quinine, strychnine
Strychnine
Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
, solanine
Solanine
Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family , such as the potato . It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. Solanine has fungicidal and pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's natural defenses...
and other alkaloids introducing so-called Prelog's regulation, which defines the conformational relations between reactants and products. Working with Robert Cahn and Christopher Ingold
Christopher Kelk Ingold
Sir Christopher Kelk Ingold FRS was a British chemist based in Leeds and London. His groundbreaking work in the 1920s and 1930s on reaction mechanisms and the electronic structure of organic compounds was responsible for the introduction into mainstream chemistry of concepts such as nucleophile,...
, he formulated the so-called CIP system, applied generally in stereometry.
Thanks to him and Ružička, Zürich has become one of the most significant centers of modern organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
.
Nobel Prize
Prelog received the 1975 Nobel Prize in ChemistryNobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for his works in the field of natural compound
Natural product
A natural product is a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism - found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design...
s and stereochemistry
Stereochemistry
Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules. An important branch of stereochemistry is the study of chiral molecules....
, sharing it with the Australian/British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
research chemist John Cornforth.
His scientific opus encompasses more than 400 works. Lecturer of distinctive style and eloquence, he trained many generations of chemists. In 1986, he became an honorary member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Croatia. It was founded in 1866 as the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts , and was known by that name for most of its existence.- History :...
.
Private life
As a private person, he was the source of anecdoteAnecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
s about almost all eminent chemists all over the world. An intellectual with a wide cultural background, he never insisted on authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
and was unused to confrontation. As an introspective person, ironic and suspicious of high social, political or religious aspirations, Prelog rarely allowed people insight into his inner life. He was one of the 109 Nobel Prize winners who signed the peace appeal for Croatia in 1991.
Vladimir Prelog died in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, at the age of 91. An urn containing Prelog's ashes was ceremoniously interred at the Mirogoj cemetery
Mirogoj Cemetery
The Mirogoj Cemetery is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemetery parks in Europe and, because of its design, numbers among the more noteworthy landmarks in the City of Zagreb....
in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
on September 27, 2001. In 2008, a memorial to Prelog was unveiled in Prague.