Sam Granick (February 16, 1909 – April 29, 1977) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological che ...

known for his studies of ferritin and

iron metabolism Human iron metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that maintain human homeostasis of iron at the systemic and cellular level. Iron is both necessary to the body and potentially toxic. Controlling iron levels in the body is a critically imp ...

more broadly, of

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it ...

structure, and of the biosynthesis of

heme Heme, or haem (pronounced / hi:m/ ), is a precursor to hemoglobin, which is necessary to bind oxygen in the bloodstream. Heme is biosynthesized in both the bone marrow and the liver. In biochemical terms, heme is a coordination complex "consis ...

and related molecules. Granick was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, and earned a B.S. (1931), M.S. (1933) and Ph.D. (1938) degrees from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he completed a dissertation in

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...

. In 1939 Granick joined the laboratory of biochemist Leonor Michaelis at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research; he would remain at the Rockefeller Institute for the rest of his scientific career.Attallah Kappas and Richard D. Levere,
In memoriam: Sam Granick 1909-1977
, ''Blood'', volume 50, number 3, September 1977, p. 543. Between 1942 and 1946, Granick and Michaelis, along with Alexandre Rothen, published a series of important research papers on ferritin and other ferric compounds in the ''

Journal of Biological Chemistry The ''Journal of Biological Chemistry'' (''JBC'') is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1905., jbc.org Since 1925, it is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It covers research i ...

''. In the first paper, Granick showed that—contrary to earlier studies—purified ferritin contains no

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are biopolymers, macromolecules, essential to all known forms of life. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main ...

and varies in its content of iron and phosphorus. A second paper, by Granick and Michaelis, showed that iron could be removed from ferritin to produce

apoferritin Ferritin is a universal intracellular protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. The protein is produced by almost all living organisms, including archaea, bacteria, algae, higher plants, and animals. It is the primary ' ...

. Granick went on to study the structure of chloroplasts, including, in 1947 with Keith R. Porter, the first application of an

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a ...

to chloroplasts. Granick was a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grannick, Sam American biochemists 1909 births 1977 deaths Rockefeller University people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Michigan alumni