Eduard Buchner
| Eduard Buchner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
20 May 1860 Munich, German Confederation |
| Died | 13 August 1917 (aged 57) Munich, German Empire |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions |
University of Berlin University of Kiel University of Munich |
| Alma mater | University of Munich |
| Doctoral advisor | Otto Fischer, Adolf von Baeyer |
| Known for | Mannich reaction |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1907) |
Eduard Buchner (20 May 1860 – 13 August 1917) was a German chemist and zymologist, awarded with the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on fermentation.
Buchner was born in Munich to a physician and Doctor Extraordinary of Forensic Medicine. His older brother was Hans Ernst August Buchner. In 1884, he began studies of chemistry with Adolf von Baeyer and of botany with Carl Nägeli, at the Botanic Institute in Munich. After a period working with Hermann Emil Fischer in Erlangen, Buchner was awarded a doctorate from the University of Munich in 1888.
The experiment for which Buchner won the Nobel Prize consisted of producing a cell-free extract of yeast cells and showing that this "press juice" could ferment sugar. This dealt yet another blow to vitalism 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 and kieselguhr 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, fructose, or maltose added and carbon dioxide 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.
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