Felix Ehrlich (16 June 1877 in

Harriehausen Bad Gandersheim ( Eastphalian: ''Ganderssen'') is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Northeim. , it had a population of 9,492. Bad Gandersheim has many half-timbered houses and is located on the German Timber-F ...

(today incorporated into Bad Gandersheim) – 23 January 1942 in Obernigk near Breslau) was a German chemist and biochemist.

Life and work

Felix Ehrlich studied in Berlin and Munich. After receiving his doctorate in 1900, he worked at the Institute of Sugar Industry in Berlin. In 1906 he obtained his diploma in chemistry. From 1909 he worked as professor in Breslau, and later as director of the Institute on Biotechnology and Agriculture. Ehrlich discovered the amino acid

isoleucine Isoleucine (symbol Ile or I) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH form under biological conditions), an α-carboxylic acid group (which is in the deprot ...

in hemoglobin in 1903, developed a process for resolving racemic

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

s in 1906, described the formation of

fusel oil Fusel alcohols or fuselol, also sometimes called fusel oils in Europe, are mixtures of several higher alcohols (those with more than two carbons, chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word ''Fusel'' is Ger ...

s by fermentation, amino acid during

alcoholic fermentation Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this ...

in 1905 and worked on the structure of

pectin Pectin ( grc, πηκτικός ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural acid contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal, chemical component of ...

s. Ehrlich demonstrated that yeast attacks the natural amino acids essentially by splitting off

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

and replacing the

amino group In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such a ...

with

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

. By this reaction, the

tryptophan Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α- carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromatic ...

gives rise to

tryptophol Tryptophol is an aromatic alcohol that induces sleep in humans. It is found in wine as a secondary product of ethanol fermentation. It was first described by Felix Ehrlich in 1912. It is also produced by the trypanosomal parasite in sleeping sic ...

.A synthesis of tryptophol. Richard W. Jackson, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 88, number 3, pp. 659–662
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Honours

1931

Emil Fischer Medal Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

References

Jüdisches biographisches Lexikon: eine Sammlung von bedeutenden ... by Hans Morgenstern, P. 190 on Google books
1877 births 1942 deaths 20th-century German chemists German biochemists People from Bad Gandersheim {{Germany-chemist-stub