Kaj Ulrik Linderstrøm-Lang (29 November 1896 – 25 May 1959) was a Danish protein scientist, who was the director of the

Carlsberg Laboratory The Carlsberg Research Laboratory is a private scientific research center in Copenhagen, Denmark under the Carlsberg Group. It was founded in 1875 by J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, with the purpose of advancing biochemica ...

from 1939 until his death. His most notable scientific contributions were the development of sundry physical techniques to study protein structure and function (especially

hydrogen–deuterium exchange Hydrogen–deuterium exchange (also called H–D or H/D exchange) is a chemical reaction in which a covalently bonded hydrogen atom is replaced by a deuterium atom, or vice versa. It can be applied most easily to exchangeable protons and deuterons, ...

), and his definitions of protein

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secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

and

quaternary structure Protein quaternary structure is the fourth (and highest) classification level of protein structure. Protein quaternary structure refers to the structure of proteins which are themselves composed of two or more smaller protein chains (also refe ...

. Linderstrøm-Lang devoted himself unstintingly to protein science and trained a whole generation of eminent protein scientists, Linderstrøm-Lang maintained a fun atmosphere in his laboratory and a happy spirit that expressed itself in wonderful

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

parties and frequent trips to the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen. Linderstrøm-Lang was also a writer, musician and story-teller, and was active in the resistance movement against the

Nazi occupation of Denmark The German invasion of Denmark (german: Operation Weserübung – Süd), was the German attack on Denmark on 9 April 1940, during the Second World War. The attack was a prelude to the invasion of Norway (german: Weserübung Nord, 9 April – 10 ...

Research and career

Early work

Linderstrøm-Lang began as a physicist. Only a year after the publication of the

Debye–Hückel theory The Debye–Hückel theory was proposed by Peter Debye and Erich Hückel as a theoretical explanation for departures from ideality in solutions of electrolytes and plasmas. It is a linearized Poisson–Boltzmann model, which assumes an extrem ...

, Linderstrøm-Lang applied it to proteins and contributed in defining the term isoionic point. In particular, he formally considered the ''ensemble'' of protonation states. Linderstrøm-Lang began in the Carlsberg laboratory under its second director S. P. L. Sørensen (who invented the pH scale). 1949 volumetric studies showing that the interior of proteins has very few charges and, hence, is likely to be hydrophobic.

Innovative methods

Perhaps the most elegant method developed by Linderstrøm-Lang is the Cartesian diver for measuring density. A long tube containing oils of gradually increasing density was prepared. A droplet containing a protein mixture is introduced and falls until it reaches its density. Very small changes in the density of the droplet (e.g., those due to an ongoing enzymatic reaction) could be observed by movements of the droplet in the density gradient.

Hydrogen-deuterium exchange

Kaj Ulrik Linderstrøm-Lang is considered the father of

Contributions to protein structure and stability

Linderstrøm-Lang is justly famous for his organization of protein structure into four levels:

and

. He did so in his Lane Medical Lectures, which were delivered at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

on 2, 4, 8, 10 and 12 October 1951, and later published by Stanford University Press.

Contributions to other scientists

Linderstrøm-Lang contributed to the training of a whole generation of protein scientists, such as Frederic M. Richards, H. A. Scheraga,

Christian B. Anfinsen Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr. (March 26, 1916 – May 14, 1995) was an American biochemist. He shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore and William Howard Stein for work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the conne ...

, William F. Harrington, etc. He is also credited with the insight that the free energy of hydrophobic interactions does not depend only on energy (but also entropy), from his realization that mixing water and alcohol (which contains a hydrophobic methyl group) gives off heat.

Awards and honors

Linderstrøm-Lang was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linderstrom-Lang, Kaj Ulrik 1896 births 1959 deaths Carlsberg Laboratory staff Danish biochemists Molecular biologists Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences