Adrien Albert

15: Heterocyclic Chemistry, and Some Biological Overtones (1964)

Introduction

15: heterocyclic chemistry, and some biological overtones (1964). Explore 1964 Liversidge Lecture research on heterocyclic chemistry, examining aminoacridines and their biological/antibacterial actions, driven by interest in drug mechanisms.

Abstract

Liversidge Research Lecture, delivered before the Royal Society of New South Wales, June 9th, 1964. Reproduced by permission of the Royal Society of New South Wales from J. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W., 1964-5, 98, 11-22."Because my deepest interest ever since school days, was to find out how drugs exerted their curative action, I studied biology alongside chemistry all through my undergraduate course. To-night I propose to describe some of the highlights of the research in which I became involved after completing my Ph.D. work in London and returning to Australia in 1937.""In my thesis work, under the supervision of W. H. Linnell, I had synthesized a number of new polyaminoacridines but the reason why only some of them were antibacterial quite eluded us. It was later, while I was working in the Department of Organic Chemistry in the University of Sydney, that I resolved to simplify the problem by examining the monoaminoacridines."

Review

This paper, presenting the Liversidge Research Lecture delivered in 1964, offers a historical perspective on the intersection of heterocyclic chemistry and biological activity. Titled "15: Heterocyclic Chemistry, and Some Biological Overtones," it clearly positions itself as a reflective summary of a specific area of scientific endeavor from the mid-20th century. Reproduced from the *J. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W.*, the document serves as a valuable record of a significant address given before the Royal Society of New South Wales, capturing the scientific discourse and intellectual landscape of its time. The abstract reveals the deeply personal and intellectually driven motivation behind the author's research trajectory. Driven by a lifelong interest in understanding how drugs exert their curative actions, the author pursued an interdisciplinary education encompassing both chemistry and biology. The core of the presented work centers on the author's post-Ph.D. research in Australia, evolving from initial synthetic efforts on polyaminoacridines—where the selective antibacterial action remained puzzling—to a more focused and simplified approach examining monoaminoacridines. This methodological shift highlights a critical commitment to unraveling complex structure-activity relationships, a foundational aspect of medicinal chemistry. While only an abstract, it strongly suggests that the full lecture would have provided important insights into foundational medicinal chemistry research. The historical context of 1964 makes this a fascinating glimpse into early efforts to rationally understand biologically active compounds, particularly within the heterocyclic class. For researchers interested in the history of drug discovery, the development of antibacterial agents, or the evolution of structure-activity relationship studies, this lecture represents a significant primary source documenting the challenges and thought processes of a pioneering scientist in the field. It underscores the enduring quest to link chemical structure with biological function.

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