Thérèse Tréfouël (née Boyer, 19 June 1892 — 9 November 1978) was a French chemist. Along with her husband,

Jacques Tréfouël Jacques Tréfouël (9 November 1897, Le Raincy – 11 July 1977, Paris) was a French medicinal chemistry, medical chemist. He collaborated closely with his wife, Thérèse Tréfouël, including on the discovery of sulfanilamide. Biography ...

, she is best known for her research on sulfamides, a novel class of antibiotic drugs.

Education and personal life

Between 1913 and 1919, Tréfouël studied chemistry at the Faculté des Sciences, in Paris. She met her husband Jacques when they were assigned as lab partners after both failing to sign up to a practical course on time. Jacques and Thérèse married in 1921. They were known for the strength of their partnership and collaboration. Even after their retirement from scientific research, the Tréfouëls continued to collaborate on various projects: Jacques was fascinated by metalwork and woodwork, and would construct furniture which Thérèse upholstered.

Research and career

In the early 1920s, Thérèse and her husband worked at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

, in the laboratory of Ernest Fourneau — known as the father of

medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

. By studying derivatives of arsenic, they created drugs that could be used against

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

( Stovarsol),

African trypanosomiasis African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma bru ...

(Orsanine, moranyl), and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

(Rodoquine). Stovarsol and Orsanine are both

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...

s of acetylaminohydroxyphenylarsonic acid. This was the first demonstration that isomers of the same molecule could have such different and specific properties. The Tréfouëls received several awards for this work, including the Prix Parkin from the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

(1927), the Prix Louis (1932) and the Prix Paultre (1932) from the

Académie de Médecine An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. They are best known for their 1935 co-discovery, together with the pharmacologist

Daniel Bovet Daniel Bovet (23 March 1907 – 8 April 1992) was a Swiss-born Italian pharmacologist who won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of drugs that block the actions of specific neurotransmitters. He is best known for hi ...

and the bacteriologist Frederico Nitti, of

sulfanilamide Sulfanilamide (also spelled sulphanilamide) is a sulfonamide antibacterial drug. Chemically, it is an organic compound consisting of an aniline derivatized with a sulfonamide group. Powdered sulfanilamide was used by the Allies in World War ...

, a novel

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

. In 1938, Jacques started his own laboratory at the Pasteur Institute. In 1940, Jacques was appointed as director of the institute, at which point Tréfouël took over the management of the laboratory. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Tréfouëls continued their research into sulfamides. In 1954, they established the use of diaminodiphenyl sulfone for the treatment of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Thérèse officially became the head of the laboratory in 1955, while Jacques served as the director of the Institute for a total of 24 years. The Tréfouëls were nominated for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1950. In 1955, they were nominated for the Prix du Conseil National de l'Ordre des Pharmaciens, for their lifetime achievements in medicinal chemistry. Thérèse retired in 1963, and died in 1978, a year after her husband.

Legacy

The Jacques and Thérèse Tréfouël Square in Paris was named after Tréfouël and her husband.

Bibliography

* ''Traité de chimie organique / T. 22, Méthodes générales utilisées en chimie industrielle organique, grandes synthèses, matières colorantes, tanins et tannage, hauts polymères synthétiques, chimie du caoutchouc naturel, savons et produits similaires, parfumerie, industries de fermentation, chimiothérapie'' (1953)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tréfouël, Thérèse 1892 births 1978 deaths 20th-century French women scientists 20th-century French chemists French women chemists French women academics