James B. Sumner

James Batcheller Sumner (November 19, 1887 – August 12, 1955) was an American chemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 with John Howard Northrop.

Research

It was at Cornell where Sumner began his research into isolating enzymes in pure form which had never been achieved before. The enzyme he worked with was urease.

Related Topics:
Enzyme - Urease

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Sumner's work was unsuccessful for many years and many of his colleagues were doubtful, believing that what he was trying to achieve was impossible but in 1926 he succeeded and discovered that even low molecular weight enzymes could be isolated and crystallized. His successful research brought him to full professorship in 1929.

Related Topics:
1926 - 1929

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