Ivan Ostromislensky
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Ivan Ivanovich Ostromislensky (, also Iwan Ostromislensky) (9 September 1880 – 16 January 1939) was a Russian
organic chemist Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...
. He is credited as the pioneer in studying
polymerization In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many fo ...
of
synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About of rubber is produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubber, just like natural ru ...
as well as
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
of various industrial technologies for production of synthetic rubber,
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
s and
pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...
s.


Early life

Ostromislensky was born in
Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
to a family of a nobleman, a poruchik of elite corps. He received his education first at the Moscow cadet corps and then, from 1898 to 1902 at the Moscow Technical School. After graduation, in April 1902, Ostromislensky went to Germany, and enrolled to the
Technical School A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...
in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
. There, he specialized in
physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...
,
organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...
and
electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between Electric potential, electrical potential difference and identifiable chemical change. These reactions involve Electron, electrons moving via an electronic ...
. In July 1906 he returned to Russia and in February 1907 was hired at the
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
(MSU) as an assistant in the
laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...
of inorganic and physical chemistry, led by Professor Sabaneev. In 1909, Ostromislensky became a
privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
of MSU. During his work at MSU, he actively collaborated with Professor L. Chugayev, who headed the laboratory of organic and general chemistry, and started his work on synthetic rubber. cited sources: ; Волков В.А., Вонский Е.В., Кузнецова Г.И. "Остромысленский Иван Иванович" Биографический справочник. Химики. Киев, 1984 (Russian) In 1912 after an internal quarrel, Ostromislensky resigned from the MSU. He continued his work on
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...
(1912–1917) at Bogatyr (Russian: Богатырь), which was Russia's main rubber company. The company director showed great interest in the emerging synthetic rubber and readily financed the work of Ostromislensky, who was the pioneer of synthetic rubber in Russia. In 1905 Ostromislensky started reporting his research on the
polymerization In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many fo ...
of
diene In organic chemistry, a diene ( ); also diolefin, ) or alkadiene) is a covalent compound that contains two double bonds, usually among carbon atoms. They thus contain two alk''ene'' units, with the standard prefix ''di'' of systematic nome ...
s and on the synthesis of the starting
monomer A monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or two- or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Chemis ...
s for synthetic rubber. He had patented more than 20 ways to produce
butadiene 1,3-Butadiene () is the organic compound with the formula CH2=CH-CH=CH2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to a liquid. It is important industrially as a precursor to synthetic rubber. The molecule can be viewed as the union of two ...
(buta-1,3-diene), which were implemented industrially in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. The butadiene production method, which was based on
aldol condensation An aldol condensation is a condensation reaction in organic chemistry in which two carbonyl moieties (of aldehydes or ketones) react to form a β-hydroxyaldehyde or β-hydroxyketone (an aldol reaction), and this is then followed by dehydration t ...
of
acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic compound, organic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula , sometimes abbreviated as . It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the most ...
(1905), was also implemented on industrial scale in Germany in 1936. Another method was based on passing vapors of
ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
and
acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic compound, organic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula , sometimes abbreviated as . It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the most ...
at 440–460°C over
aluminium oxide Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several Aluminium oxide (compounds), aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as alum ...
(1915) and received industrial use in 1942–1943 in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In 1915 Ostromislensky also synthesized
isoprene Isoprene, or 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, is a common volatile organic compound with the formula CH2=C(CH3)−CH=CH2. In its pure form it is a colorless volatile liquid. It is produced by many plants and animals (including humans) and its polymers ar ...
via
pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...
of
turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...
and polymerized it using light. Ostromislensky pioneered the studies of non-
sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...
activators of
vulcanization Vulcanization (British English: vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to ...
of rubber. He also proposed organic additions to rubber, such as
toluidine There are three isomers of toluidine, which are organic compounds discovered and named by James Sheridan Muspratt and August Wilhelm von Hofmann in 1845. These isomers are O-Toluidine, ''o''-toluidine, ''m''-toluidine, and ''p''-toluidine, with the ...
and naphthylamine, in order to improve its properties. Those additives were later exploited by US companies, such as
Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...
. In 1913 Ostromislensky published a book on "Rubber and its analogs", which was the first Russian textbook on chemistry and technology of rubber. It summarized most available bibliography on the subject, including foreign
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s which were inaccessible to most Russian readers. The book also described 16 original methods of industrial synthesis and polymerization of di
alkene In organic chemistry, an alkene, or olefin, is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond. The double bond may be internal or at the terminal position. Terminal alkenes are also known as Alpha-olefin, α-olefins. The Internationa ...
s (alka
diene In organic chemistry, a diene ( ); also diolefin, ) or alkadiene) is a covalent compound that contains two double bonds, usually among carbon atoms. They thus contain two alk''ene'' units, with the standard prefix ''di'' of systematic nome ...
s). In 1910s Ostromislensky also started shifting his attention toward biochemical, immunochemical and pharmaceutical research, as indicated by that he had two doctoral degrees from
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, in philosophy and medicine. In 1913, he started his own company named "private chemical and bacteriological laboratory". There he performed a number of studies on the immunological specificity and chemical nature of
antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...
and
antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...
s and published the results in the Journal of Physical and Chemical Society in 1915. Ostromislensky investigated the possibility of synthesis of antibodies ''
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
'' and proposed a theory of antibody synthesis, which is regarded as one of the first versions of the so-called matrix theory of antibody synthesis. The theory had strong influence on the development of
immunochemistry Immunochemistry is the study of the chemistry of the immune system. This involves the study of the properties, functions, interactions and production of the chemical components of the immune system. It also include immune responses and determina ...
, but was later proven incorrect. Medical interests of Ostromislensky are also illustrated by his essay on "dream in humans and animals", which examined the toxicological, immunological and physiological aspects of a dream. He considered sleep as a process of self-poisoning by some
toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...
, which shortens the lifetime. Between 1918 and 1920, Ostromislensky headed a chemical therapeutic laboratory of the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Institute in Moscow. There he studied the structure and properties of the popular foreign drug
Salvarsan Arsphenamine, also known as Salvarsan or compound 606, is an antibiotic drug that was introduced at the beginning of the 1910s as the first effective treatment for the deadly infectious diseases syphilis, relapsing fever, and African trypanosomias ...
and developed the method of manufacturing a domestic analogue called Arsol. Arsol was based on relatively cheap production of colloidal
arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...
that was important in the time of the Civil Wars and economic crisis in Russia.


Life abroad

In October 1921 Ostromislensky left Russia and moved to
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. There he assumed a position of
assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...
at the department of organic chemistry of
University of Latvia University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on Se ...
in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
. There he taught two major courses, on chemistry of rubber and on chemotherapeutic drugs. In May 1922 at the invitation of Dr. A. Hopkinson from the US "Rubber Company" Ostromislensky moved to New York. There he continued his work on chemistry and technology of rubber and pharmaceuticals in two companies,
United States Rubber Company Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...
and
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...
. In 1925 he opened his "Ostro Research Laboratory", where he studied the pharmaceutical properties of various compounds based on arsenic and vegetable oils which were used to treat
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 ...
. He also advocated commercial production of chemotherapeutic drugs pyridium and
pyrazolone Pyrazolone is 5-membered heterocycle containing two adjacent nitrogen atoms. It can be viewed as a derivative of pyrazole possessing an additional ketone, carbonyl (C=O) group. Compounds containing this functional group are useful commercially in ...
. In 1928 he received a US patent for production of
polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...
which was used by US Rubber for the first commercial production of polystyrene in the early 1930s. He also patented his early work on the synthesis of
polyvinyl chloride Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...
in the US.I. Ostromislensky (1929) "Polymer of vinyl chloride and process of making the same" In 1930 Ostromislensky received
U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...
and was invited to work in the company
Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...
to develop commercial production of butadiene from ethanol. The production ceased only after the
World War II 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 ...
, because it could not compete with butylene-based technologies. In the US, Ostromislensky improved several industrial technologies of synthetic rubber production. He also developed a technology for producing
safety glass Safety glass is glass with additional safety features that make it less likely to break, or less likely to pose a threat when broken. Common designs include toughened glass (also known as tempered glass), laminated glass, and wire mesh glass (als ...
for the automobile windshields. In one of developed by him reactions, ethanol is
oxidized Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...
to
acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic compound, organic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula , sometimes abbreviated as . It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the most ...
, which reacts with additional ethanol over a
tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ta and atomic number 73. It is named after Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductility, ductile, lustre (mineralogy), lustrous, blue-gray transition ...
-promoted porous
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
catalyst at 325–350°C to yield butadiene:Kirshenbaum, I. (1978). Butadiene. In M. Grayson (Ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd ed.'', vol. 4, pp. 313–337. New York: John Wiley & Sons. : CH3CH2OH + CH3CHO → CH2=CH-CH=CH2 + 2 H2O : This process was used in the United States to produce government rubber during World War II, and remains in use today in China and India.


Death and legacy

Ostromislensky died at the age 58. His scientific work did not receive appropriate recognition during his lifetime, but was widely praised afterwards. He was among the first 5 scientists inducted into the International Rubber Science Hall of Fame.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostromislensky, Ivan Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni 1880 births 1939 deaths Chemists from the Russian Empire American physical chemists Russian organic chemists Inventors from the Russian Empire Electrochemists Academic staff of the University of Latvia 20th-century American inventors Soviet emigrants to the United States 20th-century American chemists