AUC - Past & Present Stephen Harding. Thé Svedberg 1884-1971

AUC - Past

& Present

Stephen Harding

Thé Svedberg

1884-1971

Svedberg oil-turbine ultracentrifuge

“Evolution” of the AUCNumbers of papers in the Biochemical

Journal, per annum

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2002

1920’s: “Thé: I see a new dawn! ”

• Svedberg & Nichols: oil turbine u/c

• Optical system• Rinde: sector shape

cell

• Hemoglobin - Svedberg & Fåhraeus

1926: 1st AUC paper on sedimentation equilibrium

1930’s: “Proteins are molecules”

• Philpott/Svensson Schlieren optics

• Proteins as molecules• Concept of subunits• Perrin: Frictional

ratio calculations and shapes of molecules: TMV

1930’s: “Proteins are molecules”

• Philpott/Svensson Schlieren optics

• Proteins as molecules• Concept of subunits• Perrin: Frictional

ratio calculations and shapes of molecules: TMV

1930’s: “Proteins are molecules”

• Philpott/Svensson Schlieren optics

• Proteins as molecules• Concept of subunits• Perrin: Frictional

ratio calculations and shapes of molecules: TMV

1948: Discovery of electricity is taken

into account

Spinco Model E (Pickels)Beckman Model E (Pickels)

1948: Analysis of

Mixtures

A.G. “Sandy” Ogston

“Evolution” of the AUCNumbers of papers in the

Biochemical Journal

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2002

Yphantis Schachman

Williams van Holde

“Evolution” of the AUCNumbers of papers in the

Biochemical Journal

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2002

1980’s: “Take our advice and switch to more useful techniques

like NMR”

• “Advice” from the Biochemical Journal

• Garcia de la Torre: bead models

• National Centres in the USA and UK

• 1989 – news of another “new dawn”

April 1991