Bernhard Proskauer (8 January 1851, Ratibor – 24 July 1915, Berlin) was a German

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

and

hygienist Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

. He studied chemistry at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Will ...

, and from 1874 worked as a chemist at the Imperial Health Office in Berlin. In 1885 he was named departmental head of the Institute of Hygiene at the university, attaining the title of professor in 1890. From 1891 he was associated with the

Institute of Infectious Diseases An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, wherein 1901 he was named head of the department of chemistry. In 1907 he was appointed director of the Berlin Municipal Testing Office.Plett – Schmidseder
edited by

Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Götting ...

Much of Proskauer's research dealt with

disinfection A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than s ...

s and water hygiene issues. With physician Daniel Wilhelm Otto Voges, he developed the

Voges–Proskauer test Voges–Proskauer or VP is a test used to detect acetoin in a bacterial broth culture. The test is performed by adding alpha-naphthol and potassium hydroxide to the Voges-Proskauer broth, which is a glucose-phosphate broth that has been inocu ...

, a

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and break ...

used in testing for the production of

acetoin Acetoin, also known as 3-hydroxybutanone or acetyl methyl carbinol, is an organic compound with the formula CH3CH(OH)C(O)CH3. It is a colorless liquid with a pleasant, buttery odor. It is chiral. The form produced by bacteria is (''R'')-acetoin. ...

by various

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

. With Richard Pfeiffer, he edited the ''Encyklopädie der Hygiene'' (2 volumes, 1902–05).Encyklopädie der Hygiene
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References

External links

Mold Treatment And Prevention
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proskauer, Bernhard 1851 births 1915 deaths People from Racibórz Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Hygienists 19th-century German chemists 20th-century German chemists 19th-century German Jews 20th-century German Jews