Karl Spiro (24 June 1867 – 21 March 1932) was a German

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, and

physical chemist 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 mecha ...

. Spiro was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1889 he received his PhD from the

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 ...

as a student 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 ...

, then in 1893 obtained his medical doctorate from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. He later served as an assistant to

Oswald Schmiedeberg Johann Ernst Oswald Schmiedeberg (10 October 1838 – 12 July 1921) was a Baltic German pharmacologist. In 1866 he earned his medical doctorate from the University of Dorpat with a thesis concerning the measurement of chloroform in blood, before ...

and

Franz Hofmeister Franz Hofmeister (30 August 1850, in Prague – 26 July 1922, in Würzburg) was an early protein scientist, and is famous for his studies of salts that influence the solubility and conformational stability of proteins. In 1902, Hofmeister became t ...

at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, where in 1912 he became an honorary professor. From 1919 to 1921 he worked as a

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

in the research laboratories of

Sandoz AG Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugs c ...

(

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

). In 1921 he succeeded

Gustav von Bunge Gustav Piers Alexander von Bunge (19 January 1844, Dorpat – 5 November 1920, Basel) was a German physiologist known for work in the field of nutrition physiology. He was the son of botanist Alexander von Bunge (1803–1890). Biography In 1874 ...

as professor of physical chemistry at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

, where he also served as director of the institute for

physiological chemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. He died in

Wimmenau Wimmenau ( or ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Wimmenau is located at the crossroads of an ancient Celtic road from Haguenau to Sarre-Union and an ancient Roman road from Strasbourg to Sa ...

, aged 64. In 1897 he invented "

Pyramidon Aminophenazone (or aminopyrine, amidopyrine, Pyramidon) is a non-narcotic analgesic substance. It is a pyrazolone and a derivative of phenazone, which also has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. While inexpensive and effective, espec ...

", the trade name for

aminopyrine Aminophenazone (or aminopyrine, amidopyrine, Pyramidon) is a non-narcotic analgesic substance. It is a pyrazolone and a derivative of phenazone, which also has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. While inexpensive and effective, espec ...

. With

Arthur Stoll Arthur Stoll (8 January 1887 – 13 January 1971) was a Swiss biochemist. Education and career The son of a teacher and school headmaster, he studied chemistry at the ETH Zurich, with a PhD in 1911, where he studied with Richard Willstätte ...

, he is credited with the isolation of

ergotamine Ergotamine, sold under the brand name Ergomar among others, is an ergopeptine and part of the ergot family of alkaloids; it is structurally and biochemically closely related to ergoline. It is structurally similar to several neurotransmitter ...

. His name is associated with "Spiro's test"; a test for the determination of ammonia and

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 the urine through the use of

barium oxide Barium oxide, also known as baria, is a white hygroscopic non-flammable chemical compound, compound with the formula BaO. It has a Cubic crystal system, cubic structure and is used in cathode-ray tubes, crown glass, and Catalysis, catalysts. It ...

and petroleum.

Literary works

* ''Ueber physikalische und physiologische Selektion'', 1897. * ''Medizinische Kolloidlehre; Physiologie, Pathologie und Therapie in kolloidchemischer Betrachtung'' (with Leopold Lichtwitz and

Raphael Eduard Liesegang Raphael Eduard Liesegang () (1 November 1869 – 13 November 1947) was a German chemist, photographer and entrepreneur born in Elberfeld. He is known for his work on Liesegang rings. He also helped develop the methods of capillary analysis, a p ...

) 1935. * ''Ergebnisse der Physiologie, biologischen Chemie und experimentellen Pharmakologie. Reviews of physiology, biochemistry, and experimental pharmacology'' (for many years edited by Leon Asher and Karl Spiro; Vols. 1-55 have German title only).Ergebnisse der Physiologie, etc.
HathiTrust Digital Library

References

External links

* 1867 births 1932 deaths Scientists from Berlin Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Basel University of Würzburg alumni German pharmacologists 20th-century German biologists 20th-century German chemists German physical chemists 19th-century German chemists {{Germany-biologist-stub