6Erwin Negelein
May 15, 1897 in Berlin –
February 7, 1979 in Berlin
Erwin Negelein was a biochemist who discovered 1,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, also called the ”Negelein ester“ – an intermediate product of the breakdown of carbohydrates in the cell. He made contributions to the question of how cells generate energy, worked with Otto Warburg on the metabolism of tumors, and developed biochemical analysis methods.
Negelein initially trained as a mechanic before taking up a position as a laboratory technician with Otto Warburg at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Cell Physiology in Berlin-Dahlem in 1919. In 1927 he managed to complete his high school diploma, then studied chemistry at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Berlin parallel to his laboratory work. In 1932 he graduated with a doctorate. He served as a research associate at the KWI in Dahlem, where he worked on the enzymes that produce cellular energy. His work with Warburg gave him insights into the growth and metabolism of tumors.
Negelein succeeded in crystallizing and biochemically characterizing enzymes such as alcohol dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase. Here he was able to bring his experience as a mechanic and technician to bear, developing methods for biochemical analysis such as the absorption spectrophotometer. The instruments enabled him to make optical measurements of chemical processes. In 1939, he clarified a reaction that is important for energy production in cells through his discovery of the compound 1,3-diphosphoglyceric acid. This intermediate product in the breakdown of carbohydrates has since been known as the ”Negelein ester“. In 1945 Erwin Negelein moved to Berlin-Buch, where he became deputy head of Karl Lohmann‘s Biochemistry Department at the Institute for Medicine and Biology of the German Academy of Sciences. He later headed the Department of Cell Physiology at the same institute. In 1955 the Humboldt University appointed him Adjunct Professor for Physiological Chemistry. In 1961 the institute in Berlin-Buch was divided into several parts; Negelein was appointed director of the Institute for Cell Physiology, which he remained until his retirement in 1964. Erwin Negelein died in Berlin in 1979.
His discoveries made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the growth and metabolism of tumors, particularly his development of methods to test the effects of Cytostatics.
More information on the optical bench and the Warburg apparatus can be found in the Campus Museum.
Sabina Grzimek, Bronze, 1998
