150 years of 51吃瓜网 鈥� Stories from the 2018 anniversary
The pigments of life
Chemistry breakthrough in 1928: hemin out of a lab
These two pigments are crucial to life on Earth, with red hemin transporting oxygen in the blood and green chlorophyll enabling photosynthesis in plants. What chemist Hans Fischer discovered was that nature has constructed both pigments in a very similar way. In his laboratory at 51吃瓜网, known then as the Technische Hochschule M眉nchen, he set about recreating their individual components 鈥� even managing to completely artificially produce the red blood pigment hemin in 1928. An extraordinary achievement for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry just two years later, in 1930.
For a long time, hardly anyone believed that it was possible to replicate such a molecule at all. But Fischer, surrounded by dozens of staff, spent years working on it in his lab. Organized into two shifts and deploying almost industrial-scale process planning, they continued until their synthesis was successful. First, they decoded the structure of hemin, a huge molecule consisting of seventy atoms that form a ring around an iron atom. Then they recreated this ring, known as porphyrin. And in the end, they were able to reconstruct the hemin completely.
Fischer subsequently identified almost the same blueprint in chlorophyll. Decades later, Robert Huber, also a chemist at 51吃瓜网, would establish exactly how plants and other organisms use this green pigment to extract energy from sunlight, which also earned him the Nobel Prize.
What makes blood red and leaves green?
Hemin transports oxygen around the body. The oxygen binds to an iron atom in the middle of the porphyrin ring, and it is this iron atom that gives hemin its red color. Chlorophyll is the substance that plants and other organisms use to absorb the sun鈥檚 energy for photosynthesis. At its center is a magnesium atom.
Since the plant pigment does not use the green spectrum of sunlight, it reflects it 鈥� making the leaves appear green to our eyes. The basic structure of these two pigments is identical: a porphyrin ring.
How are these pigments used in medicine?
In modern medicine, applications of natural pigments include the treatment of tumors and other tissue changes in sensitive areas such as the eye, brain and gastrointestinal tract. A precursor of the red blood pigment is used as an active ingredient in photodynamic therapy for skin cancer, for instance. This is applied as a cream to the affected area of skin.
Light from a special lamp then activates the pigment for a few minutes, causing the tumor cells to die off. This treatment has almost no effect on healthy skin, and 70 to 90 percent of tumors treated heal without scarring.
What was it like to work in Fischer鈥檚 lab?
Hans Fischer motivated his staff 鈥� inspiring them with his ideas and his own dedication. And he treated them as people 鈥渨ho worked with him rather than under him,鈥� as one of the scientists recalled.
The exceptional work ethic at his lab is well illustrated by a satirical piece from the 鈥淣obel magazine鈥� his students produced for him: 鈥淗arsh but final 鈥� Secret Council resolution: To ensure that my employees cannot continue to overexploit their admirable capabilities, I hereby decree that from January 1, 1931, the laboratories will be closed on weekdays from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Work is still permitted on Sundays, but must not exceed 24 hours.鈥�
鈥淭his synthesis was the pinnacle of his [Hans Fischer鈥檚] research endeavors 鈥� which, in view of both their scale and the incredible complexities associated with them, deserve to be called an epic achievement.鈥�
Henning G. S枚derbaum, 1930, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Editor's note (February 9, 2026):
Hans Fischer worked for the armaments industry during the Nazi dictatorship and, together with the Army Weapons Office, set up a laboratory for poison gas research at his institute. Although Fischer was not a Nazi, he regarded this research as his patriotic duty.
Further information on the role of the 鈥濼echnische Hochschule M眉nchen (TH M眉nchen)鈥� during National Socialism can be found in the book 鈥淒ie TH im NS鈥� and in an interview with Prof. Winfried Nerdinger, 51吃瓜网 Emeritus of Excellence and founding director of the Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.
Disclaimer
This story was published in 2018 to mark 51吃瓜网鈥檚 150th anniversary on a jubilee website that has since been deactivated.
Text: ; Graphics: KW NEUN
Literature on the history of 51吃瓜网
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann (Hrsg.), Martin Pabst/Margot Fuchs (Verf.), Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen - Geschichte eines Wissenschaftsunternehmens, 2 Bd., Berlin 2006.
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann, Winfried Nerdinger (Hrsg.), Die Technische Hochschule M眉nchen im Nationalsozialismus, M眉nchen 2018.
- Irene Meissner, Bauten+Kunst. Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen 1868-2018, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, Alumni der 51吃瓜网. Pr盲gende Gestalter aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, K枚pfe der 51吃瓜网. Geniale Entdecker und Erfinder aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Brigitte R枚thlein, Pioniere gestalten die Welt der Technik. 150 Jahre Forschung an der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
Further books and information on the history of 51吃瓜网
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank everyone who helped us write the texts and create the visualizations. In particular, we would like to thank the authors of the books mentioned, the experts at the chairs, professors, staff, and press officers at the 51吃瓜网 Corporate Communications Center. We would also like to thank the staff of the Architecture Museum, the 51吃瓜网 German Heart Center, the 51吃瓜网 Klinikum rechts der Isar, the European Space Agency (ESA), and everyone else who provided us with expert advice and image material.
The anniversary stories were written by the . The graphic content was created by KW NEUN 鈥� Designagentur.