chemistry

Paul Karrer

Paul Karrer is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul Karrer rather than just read about it. In short: Paul Karrer (21 April 1889 – 18 June 1971) was a Swiss organic chemist best known for his research on vitamins. He and British chemist Norman Haworth won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.

Key takeaways

Paul Karrer belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul Karrer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul Karrer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul Karrer (21 April 1889 – 18 June 1971) was a Swiss organic chemist best known for his research on vitamins. He and British chemist Norman Haworth won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.

Biography

Early years Karrer was born in Moscow, Russia to Paul Karrer and Julie Lerch, both Swiss nationals. In 1892 Karrer's family returned to Switzerland where he was educated at Wildegg and at the Old Cantonal School Aarau where he matriculated in 1908. He studied chemistry at the University of Zurich under Alfred Werner and after gaining his PhD in 1911, he spent a further year as an assistant in the Chemical Institute. He then took a post as a chemist with Paul Ehrlich at the Georg Speyer Haus, Frankfurt-am-Main. In 1919 he became Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Chemical Institute.

Research Karrer's early research concerned complex metal compounds but his most important work has concerned plant pigments, particularly the yellow carotenoids. He elucidated their chemical structure and showed that some of these substances are transformed in the body into vitamin A. His work led to the establishment of the correct constitutional formula for β-carotene, the chief precursor of vitamin A; the first time that the structure of a vitamin or provitamin had been established. George Wald worked briefly in Karrer's lab while studying the role of vitamin A in the retina. Later, Karrer confirmed the structure of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and extended his researches into the vitamin B2 and E. His important contributions to the chemistry of the flavins led to the identification of lactoflavin as part of the complex originally thought to be vitamin B2. Karrer published many papers and received many honours and awards, including the Nobel Prize in 1937. His textbook Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie (Textbook of Organic Chemistry) was published in 1927, went through thirteen editions, and was published in seven languages.

Personal life Karrer married Helena Froelich in 1914 and had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. He died on 18 June 1971, at the age of 82 in Zürich. His wife died in 1972.

Legacy The prestigious Paul Karrer Gold Medal and lecture were established in his honour in 1959 by a group of leading companies such as CIBA AG, J.R. Geigy, F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co. AG, Sandoz AG, Société des Produits Nestlé AG and Dr. A. Wander AG. It is awarded annually or biannually to an outstanding chemist who delivers a lecture at the University of Zurich. The Paul Karrer Lecture Foundation is based at the Chemistry Institute of the University of Zurich at Rämistrasse 71, in Zürich.

References Sources Shampo; Kyle, RA (2000). "Paul Karrer—research on vitamins". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 75 (4): 328. doi:10.4065/75.4.328. PMID 10761480. Isler (1978). "Paul Karrer, 21 April 1889—18 June 1971". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 24: 245–321. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1978.0009. PMID 11615740. S2CID 7389730. Schmid (1972). "Paul Karrer, 1889–1971". Bulletin der Schweizerischen Akademie der Medizinischen Wissenschaften. 28 (5): 367–70. PMID 4566692. Roche (1972). "Paul Karrer (1889–1971)". Bulletin de l'Académie Nationale de Médecine. 156 (4): 89–92. PMID 4565808. Karrer; Viscontini, M; Hochreuter, R (1953). "Crystallized 3-carboxamide-N1-D-ribosidopyridinium bromide and related compounds". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 12 (1–2): 51–5. doi:10.1016/0006-3002(53)90122-x. PMID 13115412. Notes

External links Paul Karrer on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, 11 December 1937 Carotenoids, Flavins and Vitamin A and B2

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Karrer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Karrer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Karrer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Karrer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Karrer

In research: Paul Karrer appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Karrer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Karrer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1889 births, 1971 deaths, Foreign members of the Royal Society, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Karrer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paul Karrer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul Karrer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Karrer in simple terms?

Paul Karrer (21 April 1889 – 18 June 1971) was a Swiss organic chemist best known for his research on vitamins. He and British chemist Norman Haworth won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.

Why does Paul Karrer matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Karrer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Karrer.