Total synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin
Síntesis total de insulina cristalina
- Date
- 1965 · confidence high
- Place
- Institute of Biochemistry, Shanghai, China
- Credited to
- Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Institute of Organic Chemistry (CAS) and Peking University (Niu Jingyi, Wang Yu, Gong Yueting)
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
The first chemical synthesis of a complete protein with full biological activity, crystallised: the two chains of bovine insulin were synthesised separately and joined. It showed that chemistry could manufacture functional proteins.
Katsoyannis (Pittsburgh) and Zahn (Aachen) published syntheses in 1963-1964, but with very low yield and activity and without crystallising it.
What it led to
- synthesis of peptides and proteins
- prestige of Chinese biochemistry