| RefNo | EC/1977/20 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 65 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Knowles, Jeremy Randall: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1974 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Knowles has applied skilfully the methods of organic and physical-organic chemistry to the solution of biochemical problems. The specificity and the stereospecificity of the proteolytic enzyme alpha-chymotrypsin were evaluated in a series of papers that defined the physical nature of the interaction between substrate and enzyme and emphasised the importance of molecular recognition in catalysis as the structural details of such systems were just becoming known. Large rate enhancements were achieved in simple chemical systems by encouraging formation of a pre-reaction complex - a rare example of a dramatic effect free of alternative interpretations. Knowles devised a photochemical procursor of an aryl nitrene as an affinity label activatable in situ and used it effectively to identify amino acid residues in an antibody combining site. This reagent has been used by others to identify a variety of receptor sites. Work on triosephosphate isomerase, by the combination of a number of experiments involving the use of hydrogen isotopes has culminated in the first complete description of the energetics of an enzyme catalysed reaction. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7988 | Knowles; Jeremy Randall (1935 - 2008) | 1935 - 2008 |