Heinrich Otto Wieland
Wieland, Heinrich Otto (1877-1957), a German chemist, researched bile acids, which are an important component of the digestive process. He clarified the molecular structure of complex natural substances. For his work on bile acids and related substances, he won the 1927 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Early in his career, Wieland studied organic nitrogenous compounds, publishing nearly 100 papers on the subject. He was the first to successfully produce nitrogen free radicals. Between 1912 and 1943, he published more than 50 papers on his investigations into the mechanism responsible for the oxidation process in living cells. He spent 20 years studying the structure of bile acids. Bile, a fluid secreted by the liver, aids in the digestion and absorption of fatty foods. To conduct his experiments, Wieland developed methods to isolate and purify the acids. His findings helped show the close relationship between cholesterol and bile acids. He also studied toad poison and the pigment of butterfly wings.
Wieland studied at the universities of Munich, Berlin, and Stuttgart before starting his graduate work in the laboratory of Adolf von Baeyer at the University of Munich. After receiving his Ph.D. degree in 1901, Wieland continued his research at Munich, becoming a lecturer in 1904 and a senior lecturer nine years later. From 1917 to 1921, he served as professor at the Technische Hochschule in Munich. In 1921, he accepted a position as professor at the University of Freiburg. Four years later, he returned to Munich as professor and director of the Baeyer Laboratory, a post he held until his retirement in 1950.