Irwin Fridovich
Irwin Fridovich ( born August 2, 1929 in New York City ) is an American biochemist. It is mainly used for the discovery of the biological importance of oxygen radicals known, and for research into the mechanisms by which organisms protect themselves against the toxic effects of these radicals.
Life
Fridovich acquired in 1951 at the City College of New York with a degree in biology and chemistry. After working as a research assistant at the Cornell Medical School in Ithaca, New York, Fridovich 1955 at Philip Handler at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, in biochemistry doctorate ( Ph.D.). As a post - graduate student, he was 1955/56, at the National Institutes of Health. He was then at Duke University Lecturer ( Instructor ), 1961 Assistant Professor, Associate Professor in 1965 and Full Professor in 1971.
Since 1987 he was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Sandoz AG.
Fridovich has been married since 1952 and has two children.
Work
In his doctoral thesis (1955 ) identified Fridovich hypoxanthine as a possible cofactor for the oxidation of sulfite. During his further scientific career, Fridovich addressed the biology of oxidation. He examined the ability of the xanthine oxidase to catalyze the oxidation of sulphite, and showed that a chain of free radicals, cytochrome c and O2 thereto are involved. As a result, isolated Fridovich and coworkers various superoxide dismutases (SOD) and showed that they contained either copper / zinc and localizes in the cytoplasm or contain manganese and are found in mitochondria. The high correlation between the different SOD supports the endosymbiotic theory.
Later work Fridovichs dealt with the effect of paraquat on the metabolism. For example, Escherichia coli adapts to the oxidative stress caused by increased production of manganese SOD and thereby against certain quinone antibiotics less sensitive. Recent work Fridovichs dealt with the search for stable, non-toxic analogues of superoxide dismutases.
Awards (selection)
From 1982 to 1983, Fridovich President of the American Society of Biological Chemists.
Writings (selection )
- Irwin Fridovich: The trail to superoxide dismutase. In: Protein science. Volume 7, Number 12, December 1998, pp. 2688-2690, ISSN 0961-8368. doi: 10.1002/pro.5560071225. PMID 9865966th PMC 2143889 (Free full text ).
- Irwin Fridovich: Reflections of a Fortunate Biochemist. In: The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2001, 276, 28629-28636, doi: 10.1074/jbc.R100040200.