Fritz PreglBorn 3 Sep 1869; died 13 Dec 1930 at age 61.Austrian chemist awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing techniques in the microanalysis of organic compounds. Pregl began research on bile acids in about 1904. With only tiny yields to study, he pioneered techniques of microanalysis. Whereas Justus von Liebig had needed about 1 gram of a substance before he could make an accurate analysis; through his new techniques, Pregl could work with 2.5 milligrams. This was achieved by the careful scaling down of his analytic equipment and the design of a new balance (produced in collaboration with the instrument maker W. Kuhlmann of Hamburg) capable of weighing 20 grams to an accuracy of 0.001 milligram. His techniques are of immense importance in organic chemistry. |
