Iphigenia Photaki facts for kids

Iphigenia Photaki (Greek: Ιφιγένεια Φωτάκη; also known as Iphigenia Vourvidou-Photaki after marriage; 1921–1983) was a brilliant Greek organic chemist. She is remembered for her important work in making peptides in the lab. Peptides are like tiny protein building blocks. She was especially good at creating peptides that are active in living things, like enzymes.

In 1965, Photaki became the fourth woman in Greece to earn a special qualification called "habilitation" in science. This allowed her to teach at a university. She was the second woman to achieve this in Chemistry. She became an expert in making peptides, learning from her mentor, Leonidas Zervas. He was a world leader in this field. After doing great research in Basel, Athens, and Cornell, Photaki became a Professor of Organic Chemistry. She also became the Head of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Athens.

Biography

Early Life and Studies

Iphigenia Photaki was born in Corinth, Greece, in 1921. She finished high school in Athens in 1938. That same year, she started studying chemistry at the University of Athens. She focused on Organic chemistry with her mentor, Leonidas Zervas.

Her studies were stopped during the Axis occupation of Greece. The chemistry lab was destroyed, and Zervas was put in prison. He was part of the Greek Resistance movement. Photaki finally earned her degree with high honors in 1946. She then continued her studies with Zervas. She earned her PhD in 1950. Her PhD work was about a sugar molecule called glucosamine. From 1943 to 1953, she also worked as a lab assistant and research assistant at the university.

Research in Basel and Athens

In 1953, Photaki received a scholarship to do research in Basel, Switzerland. She worked at the University of Basel in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory. This lab was led by Nobel laureate Tadeusz Reichstein. For her first two years (1953–1955), she worked with the research group of Max Brenner. Later, she worked on her own with Hans Erlenmeyer.

When she returned to Greece, she first worked at a lab in the Evangelismos Hospital. Then, her mentor Zervas invited her to join the new National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF). He had helped start this important research center.

Work in Cornell and Later Career

In 1962, Photaki was chosen by the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She was selected from many international scientists. She went to Cornell University in New York to work with Nobel laureate Vincent du Vigneaud. While there, she also gave talks at Cornell and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

After returning to the University of Athens from Cornell, Photaki continued her research. In 1965, she earned her habilitation. This was based on her work on oxytocin, which she started with du Vigneaud. Even though her research was well-known internationally, she faced challenges. The Greek military government did not allow her to teach until 1969. She was also questioned by the police because of her beliefs against the government.

Her teaching career was held back by the Ministry of Education. This continued until democracy was restored in Greece in 1974. In 1975, she was promoted to extraordinary professor, ten years after her habilitation. Soon after, in 1977, she became a full professor of Organic Chemistry. She also became the Head of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory. These were both positions her mentor Zervas once held. Iphigenia Photaki passed away in 1983 at the age of 62.

She was known for working very long hours in the lab. Sometimes she would work from "8 in the morning till 10 in the evening." During her 20 years at the University of Athens, she guided more than 15 students through their doctoral studies.

Scientific Work

Iphigenia Photaki made many important contributions to peptide synthesis. Her scientific work also covered many other areas in organic synthesis. She published about 50 papers in international chemistry journals.

Peptide Synthesis

Photaki continued the important work on peptides at the University of Athens. This work began with Zervas, who was famous for the Bergmann-Zervas carbobenzoxy method. Photaki first worked on making better "protecting groups" for oligopeptide synthesis. Protecting groups are like temporary shields for parts of molecules. They help chemists build complex molecules step by step.

She and Zervas studied new ways to protect molecules. This included N-protection with benzyl phosphate esters. They also used S-protection with trityl, benzhydryl, or benzoyl groups. This helped them make cysteine-containing peptides. They also used the o-nitrophenylsulfenyl (NPS) group, which was discovered in their Athens lab.

Using these methods, she started making complex polypeptides. These included parts of enzyme active sites and peptide hormones. Some of her notable achievements include the first synthesis of a specific 20-part ring found in insulin. Also, after her research with du Vigneaud, she created several oxytocin analogues. These were versions of oxytocin that were hard to make before.

In her later years, she also studied how to make biologically active "atypical peptides." These included peptides with N^ω-arginine or lanthionine.

Other Research Areas

With her deep knowledge of peptide synthesis, Photaki also studied how enzymes work. She looked at the biocatalytic properties and speed of enzyme active site models she created.

Another research topic she worked on early in her career was changing carbohydrates. She studied how to change glucosamine into serinaldehyde in a very specific way. This work was the basis of her doctoral thesis.

Finally, she also looked at how histidine-containing peptides form coordination complexes with metals like copper, cobalt, zinc, and cerium. After scientists found that platinum complexes could fight cancer, she also studied how enzymes react when platinum amine complexes are present.

Honours and Awards

In 1970, Iphigenia Vourvidou-Photaki received the Georgios Panopoulos Prize from the Academy of Athens. She was given this award for her research on making polypeptide hormones and studying enzyme active sites. The award recognized her work as an important contribution of Greek science to modern chemistry.

During her life, she was often invited to speak at important scientific conferences. Some examples include:

• The 3rd European Peptide Symposium (Basel, 1960)
• The 5th European Peptide Symposium (Oxford, 1962)
• The 6th European Peptide Symposium (Athens, 1963), which she helped organize
• The 6th International Biochemistry Conference (New York, 1964)
• The 7th European Peptide Symposium (Budapest, 1964)
• Symposium on Natural Sulfur Compounds (Copenhagen, 1966)
• NATO Seminar of Molecular Biology (Spetses, 1966)
• The 8th European Peptide Symposium (Noordwijk, 1966)
• The 9th European Peptide Symposium (Paris, 1968)
• The 10th European Peptide Symposium (Abano, 1970)
• The 11th European Peptide Symposium (Vienna, 1971)
• The 3rd American Peptide Symposium (Boston, 1972)
• The 13th European Peptide Symposium (Kiryat, 1974)
• The 4th American Peptide Symposium (New York, 1975)
• The 14th European Peptide Symposium (Wépion, 1976), where she was the president