Herbert Gutfreund Explained

Herbert Gutfreund
Nationality:	British of Austrian origin
Birth Date:	21 October 1921
Birth Place:	Vienna, Austria
Education:	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (Ph.D. 1947)
Awards:	Fellow of the Royal Society
Fields:	Proteolyic enzymes, fast reaction kinetics
Workplaces:	National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Berkshire; University of Bristol

Herbert Gutfreund (21 October 1921 – 21 March 2021), better known as Freddie Gutfreund, was a British biochemist of Austrian origin, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Bristol.^[1] Gutfreund died in March 2021 at the age of 99.^[2]

Early life and education

Gutfreund was born on 21 October 1921 in Vienna to a middle-class professional family, the son of Clara (Pisko) and Paul Gutfreund.^[3] His father was a civil engineer, and on his mother's side there were several scientists including the physicist Karl Weissenberg.^[4] He had all his early education in Vienna.^[5] However, the political turmoil of the 1930s forced him to leave Austria for England after the Anschluss of 1938. He joined an agricultural training scheme and became an accomplished dairyman. His interest in physiology was stimulated by reading Principles of General Physiology^[6] by William Bayliss and he was much influenced by it. He earned his doctorate at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge in 1947.

Career

After several years at the National Institute for Research in Dairying in Shinfield, Berkshire, Gutfreund spent most of his career at the University of Bristol, where he worked on proteolytic enzymes, including chymotrypsin and trypsin,^[7] and was especially active in using methods of studying fast reactions to study enzyme mechanisms. In this connection he developed and improved apparatus for that purpose.^[8] Although in his first book he had suggested that metabolite channelling (direct transfer of intermediates between enzymes) might occur, in his later years he became hostile to this notion, particularly in relation to glycolysis.^[9]

Textbooks

Gutfreund is also known for his textbooks on various aspects of enzyme catalysis:

• An Introduction to the Study of Enzymes.^[10]
• Enzymes: Physical Principles.^[11]
• Biochemical Evolution.^[12]
• Biothermodynamics: The Study of Biochemical Processes at Equilibrium.^[13] with John Edsall
• Kinetics for the Life Sciences: Receptors, Transmitters and Catalysts.^[14]

Honours

He was elected to the Royal Society in 1981.^{[15] [16]}

External links

• The kinetics of interconversion of intermediates of the reaction of pig muscle lactate dehydrogenase with oxidized nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide and lactate. Nigel G.. Bennett. Herbert. Gutfreund. 1 September 1973. Biochemical Journal. 135. 1. 81–85. 1 November 2018. www.biochemj.org. 10.1042/bj1350081. 4359923. 1165791.
• 1165791 . 4359923 . 135 . The kinetics of the interconversion of intermediates of the reaction of pig muscle lactate dehydrogenase with oxidized nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide and lactate . 1973 . Biochem. J. . 81–5 . Bennett . NG . Gutfreund . H . 1 . 10.1042/bj1350081.
• Web site: Biochemical Society - Honorary Members. Biochemistry.org. 1 November 2018.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nobel Prizes and Fellowships - About the University . University of Bristol. Bris.ac.uk. 1 November 2018.
2. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/births-marriages-and-deaths-march-27-2021-mslfjpsv0 Births, marriages and deaths, March 27, 2021 – Gutfreund Professor Herbert (Freddie) Gutfreund FRS
3. Book: The International Who's Who: 1992-93. 9780946653843. 1992.
4. Gutfreund, H. I was lucky, I was there at the right time. CMLS, Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 61, 1–3 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-003-3378-z
5. How I Became a Biochemist: An Honorary One!. IUBMB Life. 59. 11. 734–737. 10.1080/15216540701551775. 17852567. 2007. Gutfreund. Herbert. 27847114.
6. Book: Bayliss. William Maddock. Principles of general physiology. 1918. Longmans Green & Co. London.
7. 10.1073/pnas.42.10.719. The Mechanism of Chymotrypsin-Catalyzed Reactions. 1956. Gutfreund. H.. Sturtevant. J. M.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 42. 10. 719–728. 16589938. 528322. 1956PNAS...42..719G. free.
8. Rapid-flow techniques and their contributions to enzymology. Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 1999. Gutfreund H. 24. 458–460.
9. Substrate channelling among glycolytic enzymes: fact or fiction. Gutfreund H, Chock PB. Journal of Theoretical Biology . 1991. 152. 1. 117–121. 10.1016/S0022-5193(05)80524-7. 1753754. 1991JThBi.152..117G.
10. Book: Gutfreund , Herbert . An Introduction to the Study of Enzymes. 1965. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
11. Book: Gutfreund , Herbert . Enzymes: Physical Principles. 1972. Wiley-Blackwell. 0471337153.
12. Book: Biochemical Evolution. Gutfreund H. Cambridge University Press. 1981. 0521280257.
13. Book: Biothermodynamics: The Study of Biochemical Processes at Equilibrium. Edsall. John. Gutfreund. Herbert. Wiley-Blackwell. 1983. 0471102571.
14. Book: Gutfreund , Herbert . Kinetics for the Life Sciences: Receptors, Transmitters and Catalysts. Cambridge University Press. 1995. 0521480272.
15. Trentham . David R. . Geeves . Michael A. . 2022 . Herbert (Freddie) Gutfreund. 21 October 1921—21 March 2021 . Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society . 74.
16. Web site: Herbert Gutfreund . Royal Society . 22 January 2022.