Paul Ehrlich

Paul Ehrlich , 1854-1915, German bacteriologist. He directed (1896) an institute for serum research at Steglitz, near Berlin, that was transferred (1899) to Frankfurt-am-Main as the Institute for Experimental Therapy. For his work in immunology he shared with Élie Metchnikoff the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He made valuable contributions also in hematology, in cellular pathology, in the use of dyes in microscopy and in the treatment of disease, in the study of cancer, and in his discovery of salvarsan (or "606," so called from its numerical order in his experimental series) and of neosalvarsan (less toxic than salvarsan) for the treatment of syphilis.

Ehrlich, Paul (1854–1915) German bacteriologist. He shared with Ilya Metchnikoff the 1908 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work on immunization, which included the development of basic standards and methods for studying toxins and antitoxins, especially diphtheria antitoxins. His subsequent search for a ‘magic bullet’ against disease, and his discovery of salvarsan (a chemical effective against syphilis microorganisms) introduced chemotherapy.

Ehrlich, Paul (1854–1915) German bacteriologist, who graduated as a physician in 1878. After working in a Berlin hospital for nine years he taught at Berlin University (unpaid because he was a Jew). In 1890 he went to work with Robert Koch (1843–1910) to study tuberculosis, cholera, and other diseases. In collaboration with the German immunologist Emil von Behring (1854–1917), Ehrlich developed a serum containing antitoxins against diphtheria, which provided immunity against the disease. In 1910 he discovered Salvarsan, an arsenical drug effective against syphilis. He was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for his work on serum therapy.