Bartolomeo Gosio | |
|---|---|
 Bartolomeo Gosio at the Cannes Medical Conference 1920 | |
| Born | 17 March 1863 |
| Died | 13 April 1944 (aged 81) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Alma mater | University of Turin Sapienza University of Rome |
| Known for | Gosio gas (trimethylarsine) Discovery of mycophenolic acid |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine |
| Institutions | Istituto Superiore di Sanità Laboratori Scientifici della Direzione di Sanità |
Bartolomeo Gosio (17 March 1863 – 13 April 1944) was an Italian medical scientist.[1] He discovered a toxic fume, eponymously named "Gosio gas", which is produced by microorganisms, that killed many people. He identified the chemical nature of the gas as an arsenic compound (arsine), but incorrectly named it as diethylarsine.[2] He also discovered an antibacterial compound called mycophenolic acid from the mould Penicillium brevicompactum. He demonstrated that the novel compound was effective against the deadly anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. This was the first antibiotic compound isolated in pure and crystallised form. Though the original compound was abandoned in clinical practice due to its adverse effects, its chemical derivative mycophenolate mofetil became the drug of choice as an immunosuppressant in kidney, heart, and liver transplantations.[3]
- ^ Bentley, R (2001). "Bartolomeo Gosio, 1863-1944: an appreciation". Advances in Applied Microbiology. 48 (2001): 229–250. doi:10.1016/S0065-2164(01)48005-1. ISBN 9780120026487. PMID 11677681.
- ^ Jones, Roger (2008). What's Who?: A Dictionary of Things Named After People and the People They are Named After. Leicester (UK): Matador. p. 93. ISBN 978-1848760-479. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Allison, A. C.; Kowalski, W. J.; Muller, C. D.; Eugui, E. M. (2006). "Mechanisms of action of mycophenolic acid". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 696 (1): 63–87. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1993.tb17143.x. PMID 7906496. S2CID 34520788.