The method of separating different substances in a mixture to obtain each in a pure form is called chromatography. It was developed by the Russian scientist, botanist and plant biochemist, Mikhail Tsvet. The scientist's conclusions played an important role in plant physiology.
The outstanding discovery of Mikhail Semenovich Tsvet was recognized in all countries of the world. However, at home, the method of separating substances was not used. Yes, for many years the very name of the scientist remained forgotten.
The road to discovery
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1872. The child was born in the Italian city of Asti on May 14. He studied at a Swiss school, received further education at the University of Geneva.
After completing his studies in 1893, a year later, Color received the prestigious Devi award for his work on studying the structural features of plant cells. Two years later, he defended his doctoral dissertation.
The young researcher refused an offer to work at one of the leading European universities. He returned to Russia in 1896, worked in a laboratory, studied chlorophyll and tried to obtain the substance in its pure form.
The work turned out to be very difficult, but the difficulties did not stop the scientist. He decided to try the adsorption filtration method in practice. Mikhail Semenovich poured the extract of the leaves into a glass tube filled with chalk powder, followed by alcohol.
Successes and failures
The method made it possible to successfully separate the pigments. A beautiful picture of uniformly colored stripes is called a chromatogram. The experiment was carried out between 1902 and 1906. The discovery was reported by a researcher in 1907.
In August of the same year, Tsvet established his personal life. Helen Aleksandrovna Trusevich, who worked in the library of the Warsaw Veterinary University, became his chosen one, and then his wife. Mikhail Semenovich taught agronomy and botany at the university.
In 1910, a work on chromatography was published. The advantages of opening were immediately taken advantage of in Europe. Russian colleagues did not accept his works. This did not prevent him from receiving the prestigious Academy of Sciences prize for the monograph "Chromophylls in the flora and fauna".
In 1917, Professor Tsvet became head of the botanical department at the University of Yuriev, present-day Tartu. However, the arrival of German troops forced the scientist to leave the city. In 1918, the researchers were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Summarizing
At the end of 1918 the Tsveta family moved to Voronezh. The researcher was offered a place in the botanical garden.
Mikhail Semenovich passed away in 1919, on June 26. He wrote 67 scientific papers, but after 1920 the entire archive was lost. For many years not even the name of the inventor of chromatography was mentioned. Meanwhile, European colleagues actively used the method.
Only in the thirties did the German scientist Lederer discover the previously lost manuscripts of Color in the archives of the University of Warsaw. He showed them to his colleagues from the Institute of Biochemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences. They were able to appreciate the discovery.
The method became the leading one in biochemistry. With its help, many substances were obtained in pure form, isolated from the DNA nucleus.
