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Paul Rothemund and S. Ferguson MacDonald, and their Namesake Reactions – The Influence of the Fischer School on my Life in Porphyrin Chemistry
Author(s) -
Chang Chi K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.201500043
Subject(s) - chemistry , porphyrin , context (archaeology) , art history , organic chemistry , archaeology , history
The Rothemund reaction and the MacDonald 2+2 condensation are two named reactions widely recognized in porphyrin syntheses. Yet not much has been written about the persons whose work paved the way to various porphyrins and porphyrinoids now realized. Paul Rothemund and S. Ferguson MacDonald both obtained their doctorate under Hans Fischer at Munich. Here I attempt to piece together the life stories of the two chemists, tracing back to the connections with the Fischer School, and giving the historical context to their namesake reactions. The pioneering discoveries of Fischer and his students, with later modifications, have become standard methods in the modern era for the synthesis of sizable quantities of porphyrins and porphyrinoids employed for enzyme models, catalysts, drugs, sensors, and building blocks of materials and biomedical research. This essay highlights the pioneers’ achievements, renders history relevant, and recounts the influence they had on my research.