VOL. 12 (1953) A HALF-CENTURY OF BIOCHEMICAL DISCOVERY I3 



A Half-Century of Biochemical Discovery 



1904 Splitting of racemic leucine ethyl ester by pancreatin (first publication). 



1905 (Emil Fischer and Otto Warburg) Splitting of racemic leucine into its 

 optically active components by means of formyl derivatives. 



1910-1914 Respiration of sea-urchin eggs, red blood cells, and grana. 



1918-1920 Development of biochemical manometry. 



1921-1924 Iron catalyses on surfaces. Narcotic action : displacement of substrates from 



surfaces. Cyanide action : chemical reaction with iron. 



1920-1924 Quantum requirement of photosynthesis. 



1923 Tissue slice technique {d = (8Co2^M)''^^)- 

 1923-1925 Metabohsm of tumors. 



1924 Iron, the oxygen-transferring constituent of the respiration enzyme ("iron- 

 oxygenase"). 



1925-1926 Inhibition of cell respiration by carbon monoxide. 

 1927-1932 Action spectrum of iron-oxygenase. 



Discovery of the yellow enzymes. 



First crystallization of a flavin ("luminoflavin"). 



Discovery of nicotinamide as the active group of hydrogen-transferring 



enzymes. 



Nature of coenzyme action ( — dc/d^ — k-E- cJC) . 



Development of the optical methods based upon the ultraviolet absorption 



band of dihydro-nicotinamide. 



1936 Mechanism of alcohol formation in nature: 

 Dihydro-nicotinamide -\- acetaldehyde = nicotinamide + ethyl alcohol. 



1936-1937 Stepwise oxidative degradation of phosphorylated hexoses to trioses. 



1937 Discovery of the copper of phenol oxidases, and its action through valence 

 change. 



1938 Isolation and crystallization of flavin adenine dinucleotide. 



1939 Crystallization of the oxidizing fermentation enzyme, and mechanism of 

 the oxidation reaction of fermentation : 



Glyceric aldehyde diphosphate + nicotinamide = phosphoglyceric-acy/- 

 phosphate + dihydro-nicotinamide. 



1 941 Crystallization of enolase, and chemistry of fluoride inhibition of fermen- 

 tation. 



1942 Crystallization of muscle zymohexase. 



