Lázlo Zechmeister was one of the pioneers in chromatology. He recognized the potential of the chromatographic method and made extensive use of it for his research about natural products. In 1938 he founded the book series "Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products" which includes review articles on contemporary research by masters in their fields of expertise. This text casts light on his life and his pioneering role in chromatography and provides more detailed insight on the book series.
This book reviews recent research and applications of chitin and chitosan, as natural alternatives of fossil fuel products, in green chemistry, energy, biotechnology, bioprinting, medicine, water treatment, agriculture and food science. Chitin and chitosan products are polysaccharides derived from food waste of crustaceans and fungi, and thus are cheap, abundant, sustainable, non-toxic, recyclable and biocompatible.
The volumes of this classic series, now referred to simply as "Zechmeister" after its founder, L. Zechmeister, have appeared under the Springer Imprint ever since the series' inauguration in 1938. It is therefore not really surprising to find out that the list of contributing authors, who were awarded a Nobel Prize, is quite long: Kurt Alder, Derek H.R. Barton, George Wells Beadle, Dorothy Crowfoot-Hodgkin, Otto Diels, Hans von Euler-Chelpin, Paul Karrer, Luis Federico Leloir, Linus Pauling, Vladimir Prelog, with Walter Norman Haworth and Adolf F.J. Butenandt serving as members of the editorial board. The volumes contain contributions on various topics related to the origin, distribution, chemistry, synthesis, biochemistry, function or use of various classes of naturally occurring substances ranging from small molecules to biopolymers. Each contribution is written by a recognized authority in his field and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic in question. Addressed to biologists, technologists and chemists alike, the series can be used by the expert as a source of information and literature citations and by the non-expert as a means of orientation in a rapidly developing discipline.
Chitin and Chitosan: Discoveries and Applications for Sustainability provides the most comprehensive knowledge on these organic biopolymers which come from the cellular makeup of crustaceans, mollusks and arthropods. This book synthesizes historical information, fundamental properties, industrial applications, and recent discoveries and uses. Written by an international expert on chitin and chitosan sources and uses, the book discusses landmark discoveries and early uses in the research and applications of chitin and chitosan. It then explores the international use of chitin and chitosan as organic solutions across various disciplines such as aquaculture, agriculture, food and beverage industries, cosmetics and medicine. Finally, the book assesses their environmental applications for sustainable solutions, such as wastewater treatments and future chitin and chitosan usage as an organic solution for a more sustainable, green, healthy planet. - Offers a comprehensive review of these biopolymers, from their discovery to their use in our daily lives - Details the main historical facts on their composition, structure and properties - Emphasizes the chemical and biological properties and applications of chitosan - Describes key challenges and future trends
This is a social history of refugees escaping Hungary after the Bolshevik-type revolution of 1919, the ensuing counterrevolution, and the rise of anti-Semitism. Largely Jewish and German before World War I, the Hungarian middle class was torn by the disastrous war, the partitioning of Hungary in the Treaty of Trianon, and the numerus clausus act XXV in 1920 that seriously curtailed the number of Jews admitted to higher education. Hungary's outstanding future professionals, whether Jewish, Liberal or Socialist, felt compelled to leave the country and head to German-speaking universities in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. When Hitler came to power, these exiles were to flee again, many on the fringes of the huge German emigration. Emotionally prepared by their earlier threatening experiences in Hungary, they were quick to recognize the need to uproot themselves again. Many fled to the United States where their double exile catalyzed the USA into an active enemy of Nazi Germany and stimulated the transplantation of European modernism into American art and music. To their surprise, the refugees also encountered anti-Semitism in the USA. The book is based on extensive archival work in the USA and Germany.
Chromatography, invented more than 100 years ago, is the most widely used separation technique in the world today. It has helped the birth of modern analytical instrumentation and continues to strongly influence the profiles of our chemical, biochemical and clinical laboratories.This book deals with the history of the invention and evolution of chromatography and of the various chromatographic techniques. After discussing the precursors, it elaborates on the activities of M.S. Tswett, the inventor of the technique, and of a few selected key pioneers. It then summarizes the evolution of the various branches of chromatography (planar, ion-exchange, gas and liquid), and also reviews the key role of international symposia in setting the trends in this evolution. Except for individual publications of the author, the history of the evolution of chromatography has not been the subject of any book. Thus, this book fills a major gap in the scientific literature.
The first review describes examples of very promising compounds discovered from plants acquired from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Caribbean region with potential anticancer activity. These include plant secondary metabolites of the diphyllin lignan, penta[b]benzofuran, triterpenoid, and tropane alkaloid types. The second review presents 40 more erythrinan alkaloids, which were either new or were missed out in the last major reviews, bringing to a total of 154 known erythrinan alkaloids known to date. The reported pharmacological activities of the new and known alkaloids showed a greater bias towards central nervous system and related activities. Other prominent activities reported were antifeedant or insecticidal, cytotoxicity/antitumor/anticancer/estrogenic, antiprotozoal, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal and antiviral activities.
In these memoirs, written after the author's dramatic emigration to Switzerland in 1939, Richard Willstätter (1872-1942) recounts his childhood in a Jewish family in Karlsruhe, his developing interest in chemistry, and his studies under Adolf von Baeyer, his mentor at the University of Munich. Willstätter writes only briefly about the tragic early deaths of his beloved wife and of his young son, but describes in detail his work as a leading organic chemist tackling difficult problems in plant pigments, chlorophyll, enzymes and more (in Zurich, Berlin and Munich where he succeeded his mentor) and his training of dozens of young chemists. In 1924, he resigned from the University of Munich in face of increasing antisemitism. The book offers candid portraits of major fellow chemists, including Willstätter’s close friend Fritz Haber, also a Nobel prize laureate, and describes life in German research universities before the Nazis' persecution of Jewish scholars decimated them. “The book goes far beyond a chronicle of events in Willstätter’s life; it is a valuable contribution to the history of chemistry...” — Nature “[Willstätter’s] story is a reflection of the glory and the tragedy that is modern German history... These memoirs, which are truly an inside story of German chemical scholarship, are filled with delightful personal reminiscences and interesting anecdotes about the great chemists Willstätter was associated with during the course of his remarkable career.” — David H. Kenny, Journal of Chemical Education “This autobiography is one of the outstanding books printed in Germany in recent years and it [provides] an insight into the thinking and working methods of a great scientist...” — The Chemist “Great scientists are rare, but great writers among them are almost unique. Willstätter’s autobiography, published posthumously and edited by his former student, Arthur Stoll, is an extremely moving book... This wonderful book... could, with profit, be made adjunct reading in an advanced organic chemistry course.” — Record of Chemical Progress “[Willstätter’s] knowledge of chemistry and chemical problems was encyclopedic, and as unlimited as the kindness he showed me... At a meeting of the [Munich] university senate some time in 1928 a discussion had arisen about the appointment of a mineralogist. A candidate was proposed, a front rank mineralogist by the name of Goldschmidt. As soon as the name was mentioned a murmur arose in the meeting and someone remarked: ‘Wieder ein Jude!’ (another Jew). Without saying a word Willstätter rose, collected his papers and left the room. He never crossed the threshold of the university again... Although his reputation was immense, and he was a Nobel prize winner, he was modest, unassuming and retiring in character; he often reminded me of the old-time venerable type of great Jewish Rabbi. For a long time Willstätter refused to understand what was taking place in Germany... to my repeated and insistent pleas that he leave Germany and come to us in Palestine, he turned a deaf ear. He came to the opening of the [Daniel Sieff Research, later Weizmann] Institute [in Rehovot] and returned to Germany (in 1934!). He still felt that he was protected by his reputation and by the devotion of the Munich public... His last word on the subject was: ‘I know that Germany has gone mad, but if a mother falls ill it is not a reason for her children to leave her. My home is Germany, my university, in spite of what has happened, is in Munich. I must return.’” — Chaim Weizmann, Trial and Error
