Theodor Svedberg

Theodor Svedberg was a Swedish chemist who won the 1926 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on colloids and the analytical ultracentrifuge.

Analytical ultracentrifugation: A method that studies molecules and particles by measuring their movement in a high-speed centrifugal field. Svedberg developed the instrument that made this measurement technique practical.
Uppsala University: A Swedish research university founded in 1477, where Svedberg studied and later taught chemistry. Svedberg’s academic career and early colloid research were based there.
Arne Tiselius: A Swedish biochemist who developed electrophoresis methods and won the 1948 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Tiselius succeeded Svedberg as professor of physical chemistry at Uppsala.
Protein: A biological macromolecule made of amino-acid chains that performs structural, catalytic, and regulatory functions. Sedimentation analysis helped scientists estimate protein size and distinguish molecular forms.
Svedberg equation: A relation connecting a particle’s sedimentation and diffusion coefficients to its molecular mass and partial specific volume. It formalized how sedimentation measurements could reveal molecular mass.
Sedimentation coefficient: A measure of how quickly a particle moves through a fluid under centrifugal force. His measurements linked sedimentation rates to the properties of colloidal particles.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: An annual international award recognizing major contributions to chemistry. Svedberg received the 1926 prize for his work on colloids.
John Northrop: An American biochemist who crystallized enzymes and proteins, establishing their chemical nature. Svedberg’s ultracentrifugal methods contributed to the study of protein size and purity.
Ribosome: A cellular complex of RNA and proteins that translates genetic information into proteins. Its subunits are characterized partly by their sedimentation coefficients.
Sedimentation equilibrium: A state in which centrifugal sedimentation is balanced by diffusion in a rotating sample. This method extended ultracentrifugal analysis to molecular mass measurement.

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