Eduard Buchner (; 20 May 1860 – 13 August 1917) was a German

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 ...

and zymologist, awarded the 1907

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

for his work on

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

Biography

Early years

Buchner was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to a physician and Doctor Extraordinary of Forensic Medicine. His older brother was the bacteriologist

Hans Ernst August Buchner Hans Ernst August Buchner (16 December 1850 – 5 April 1902) was a German bacteriologist who was born and raised in Munich. He was the older brother of Eduard Buchner (1860–1917), winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Biography He st ...

. In 1884, he began studies of chemistry with

Adolf von Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo dye, indigo and developed a Von Baeyer nomenclature, nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended a ...

and of botany with

Carl Nägeli Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli (26 or 27 March 1817 – 10 May 1891) was a Swiss botanist. He studied cell division and pollination but became known as the man who discouraged Gregor Mendel from further work on genetics. He rejected natural selecti ...

, at the Botanic Institute in Munich. After a period working with Otto Fischer (cousin of

Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fisch ...

) at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, Buchner was awarded a doctorate from the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in 1888 under Theodor Curtius.

Academics

Buchner was appointed assistant lecturer in the organic laboratory of

in 1889 at the University of Munich. In 1891, he was promoted to lecturer at the same university. In the autumn of 1893, Buchner moved to

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

and appointed professor in 1895. In the next year he was appointed Professor Extraordinary for Analytical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the chemical laboratory of H. von Pechmann at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. In October, 1898, he was appointed to the Chair of General Chemistry in the

Agricultural University of Berlin The Agricultural University of Berlin () was an agricultural university in Berlin, Germany. Established in 1881, it was closed in 1934, and incorporated as a faculty into the Humboldt University of Berlin. History Academic teaching in agricultur ...

, fully training his assistants by himself, and received his habilitation in 1900. In 1909, he was transferred to the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(reorganised to be

University of Wrocław The University of Wrocław (, UWr; ) is a public research university in Wrocław, Poland. It is the largest institution of higher learning in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, with over 100,000 graduates since 1945, including some 1,900 researcher ...

in 1945), and in 1911, he moved to

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

The Nobel Prize

Buchner received the

in 1907. The experiment for which Buchner won the Nobel Prize consisted of producing a cell-free extract of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

cells and showing that this "press juice" could ferment sugar. This dealt yet another blow to

vitalism Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

by showing that the presence of living yeast cells was not needed for fermentation. The cell-free extract was produced by combining dry yeast cells,

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

and

kieselguhr Diatomaceous earth ( ), also known as diatomite ( ), celite, or kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous rock, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging fr ...

and then pulverizing the yeast cells with a pestle and mortar. This mixture would then become moist as the yeast cells' contents would come out of the cells. Once this step was done, the moist mixture would be put through a press and the resulting "press juice" had

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

fructose Fructose (), or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and gal ...

, or

maltose } Maltose ( or ), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the tw ...

added and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

was seen to evolve, sometimes for days. Microscopic investigation revealed no living yeast cells in the extract. Buchner hypothesized that yeast cells secrete proteins into their environment in order to ferment sugars, but it was later found that fermentation occurs inside the yeast cells. Maria Manasseina claimed to have discovered free-cell fermentation a generation earlier than Buchner, but Buchner and Rapp considered that she was subjectively convinced of the existence of an enzyme of fermentation, and that her experimental evidence was unconvincing.

Personal life

Buchner married Lotte Stahl in 1900. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he volunteered in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

and rose to the rank of ''

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

'', commanding a munition-transport unit on the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and then Eastern Front. In March 1916, he returned the University of Würzburg. In April 1917, he volunteered again. On 11 August 1917, while stationed at Focșani, Romania, he was hit by a shell fragment in the left thigh and died in a field hospital two days later. He died in the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russian Empire, Russia on the Romania in World War I, Romanian front during World War I. ...

and is buried in the cemetery of German soldiers in Focșani. Though it is believed by some that the Büchner flask and the

Büchner funnel A Büchner funnel is a piece of laboratory equipment used in filtration. It is traditionally made of porcelain, but glass and plastic funnels are also available. On top of the funnel-shaped part there is a cylinder with a fritted glass disc/perf ...

are named for him, they are actually named for the industrial chemist Ernst Büchner.

Publications

* * * *

References

External links

* * including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1907 ''Cell-Free Fermentation'' * (English translation of Buchner's "Alkoholische Gährung ohne Hefezellen") {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchner, Eduard 1860 births 1917 deaths Scientists from Munich German biochemists Nobel laureates in Chemistry German Nobel laureates University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Breslau Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Academic staff of the University of Würzburg German military personnel killed in World War I German military doctors Scientists from the Kingdom of Bavaria Military personnel of Bavaria German Army personnel of World War I