Bogusław Bobrański (; 10 May 1904 in
Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
- 1991) was a Polish
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
. He was the rector of
Wrocław Medical University
Wrocław Medical University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Medyczny we Wrocławiu'', Latin: ''Universitas Medicus Vratislaviensis'') is an institution of higher medical education in Wrocław, Poland.
It consists of six faculties: Medicine, Medicine an ...
from 1957 - 1962.
Biography
Graduating in Chemistry from the
Lviv Polytechnic
Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...
, Bobrański received his engineering diploma in 1926. He worked in the Department of Organic Chemistry of his university under the supervision of Prof.
Edward Sucharda.
Bobrański obtained his doctorate in 1929 and
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
in 1932. He became head of the Department of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Pharmacy Department of the
Jan Kazimierz University
The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko.
The university is the oldest institution of higher ...
in
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
. During the
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
, he briefly worked as a professor at the National Institute of Medicine in Lviv, managing the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
After the forced eviction from Lwów in 1946, he found himself in
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
. He worked at the Pharmaceutical Department at the Faculty of Medicine at the local Polytechnic and University. He became the head of the Department of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the Wrocław Medical Academy. In 1956 he was appointed full professor.
Bobrański conducted extensive research on organic compounds, especially on
psychotropic drugs
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...
. In 1956 he synthesised the
barbiturate
Barbiturates are a class of depressant, depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medication, medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological a ...
compound
proxibarbital, which found medical application in Poland under the trade name of Ipronal, and in Hungary under the name Vasalgin.
He also developed industrially attractive
total syntheses of
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...
and
theophylline
Theophylline, also known as 1,3-dimethylxanthine, is a drug that inhibits phosphodiesterase and blocks adenosine receptors. It is used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Its pharmacology is similar to other met ...
, starting from
urea
Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...
.
In addition to academic textbooks, he wrote 150 experimental works in Poland and abroad. A promoter of sixteen doctoral dissertations, five of Prof. Bobrański's doctoral students later became professors in their own right.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobranski, Boguslaw
Polish chemists
1904 births
1991 deaths
Lviv Polytechnic alumni