Henry Drysdale Dakin

Henry Drysdale Dakin ( born March 12, 1880 in London, † February 10, 1952 in New York ) was an English chemist. Along with Randolph West, he discovered in 1928 the Dakin - West reaction.

Life

Dakin was born in London, his family moved to Leeds when he was 13. In 1898 he began studying at the University of Leeds, where in 1901 he received a bachelor 's degree.

In 1902 he went to the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London. Here he began the first enzymes, his later main area of ​​research. A short time later he went to Heidelberg, where he studied under Albrecht Kossel on the enzyme arginase. In 1904 he went back to the Lister Institute in London, where he continued research at enzymes. From 1905 he worked with Christian A. Herter in New York in the Research Institute together. 1909 Dakin received his doctorate at the University of Leeds.

When Christian A. Herter died a year later, Dakin took over the management of the Institute. In 1914, he began to test hundreds of substances according to their antiseptic effect and tolerability, as Lister discovery, carbolic acid (phenol ) and the chemical treatment of wounds was generally discredited among surgeons. He discovered the effectiveness of chloramines and sodium hypochlorite. The latter, however, was already known in 1822 Antoine Germain Labarraque, but again forgotten. Hypochlorite solution (later known as Dakin 's solution ) then also helped to reduce the First World War, the Allied losses, although there is still great resistance among surgeons was overcome.

1916 married Dakin Herter's widow, with whom he had two years later in the vicinity of New York bought a house in which he established a private laboratory where he conducted research for the rest of his life alone. Until 1946 he published his scientific findings, 1952, he died at his home.

Awards

In 1941 he was awarded the Davy Medal.