ESSAY Croat. Chem. Acta 2019, 92(3), 435–442 Published online: October 9, 2019 DOI: 10.5562/cca3554 Marking a Century of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at School of Medicine in Zagreb: Honoring Professors Tomislav Pinter and Mihovil Proštenik as Fran Bubanović’s Successors Kristina Mlinac-Jerković,1,2 Vladimir Damjanović,1,* Svjetlana Kalanj-Bognar,1,2 Jasna Lovrić1 1 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 2 Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Author’s e-mail address: [email protected] RECEIVED: July 24, 2019 REVISED: September 23, 2019 ACCEPTED: September 24, 2019 Abstract: In 2018 the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Zagreb School of Medicine celebrated 100 years since it was established by professor Fran Bubanović. This essay is focused on his successors, outstanding teachers and scientists, professors Tomislav Pinter and Mihovil Proštenik, members of Yugoslavian (today Croatian) Academy of Sciences and Arts. Tomislav Pinter was a prominent physical chemist who had an original approach and gave novel interpretation of van der Waals and Wohl’s equations. He also served as the president of Croatian Chemical Society. Neurobiochemist Mihovil Proštenik started as an organic chemist at “Prelog’s Zagreb School of Organic Chemistry”. He collaborated with two Croatian Nobel prize winners in chemistry: his PhD thesis supervisor Vladimir Prelog and Lavoslav Ružička. He was the founder of “Zagreb School of Lipidology”, discovered a new sphingoid base C20-sphingosine, and had a major role in the establishment of Ruđer Bošković Institute. Herein we honor their contributions to Croatian science and beyond, and share so far unpublished valuable material from the Department archive. Keywords: School of Medicine University of Zagreb, 100th anniversary, medical chemistry, medical biochemistry. INTRODUCTION Croatian chemical and biochemical science. In this essay we show fragments of that rich history focusing on professors E are approaching the 145th anniversary of con- Tomislav Pinter and Mihovil Proštenik, members of W tinuous education in chemistry at the University of Yugoslavian (today Croatian) Academy of Sciences and Arts. Zagreb. In addition, we just celebrated a century of founding Even though chemistry as a science evolved during the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at School of centuries, up until the 19th century there were still no Medicine in Zagreb. School of Medicine in Zagreb was stand-alone chemistry courses at European Universities. founded in 1917, and very soon after that in 1918, amongst Rather, it was taught together with other natural sciences. the first Departments at the School, Department of It wasn’t until Justus Liebig (1803–1873) at the University Chemistry and Biochemistry was established. At that time, of Giessen that chemistry was introduced as a special the Department bore the name Department of Applied course. Liebig’s former students and PhD students then Physician Chemistry, and during its one hundred years, the founded chemistry laboratories and taught classes all over Department changed many names. Also, as one might Europe and USA.[1–3] The first chemistry professor, from expect, during an active century, many people, including 1875 until 1878, at the University of Zagreb was Aleksandar teachers, technicians and other staff passed through the Veljkov (1847–1878) who thought chemistry as a separate Department and left their mark not only in chemistry and discipline at Faculty of Philosophy. Veljkov was followed by biochemistry education for medical students, but also in Gustav Janeček (1848–1929) in 1879 after a very brief This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 436 K. MLINAC-JERKOVIĆ et al.: Croatian Chemists Tomislav Pinter and Mihovil Proštenik Bubanović (1883–1956), a prominent Croatian teacher, scientist and science communicator (Figure 1). To date, many Croatian chemists have written numerous papers regarding his work and professional career.[4,7–17] From these papers it is obvious that his impact on chemistry and biochemistry education at Zagreb University and wider had been immeasurable, as well as bestowing a legacy in scientific research that stemmed from his collaboration and friendship with the chemistry Nobel prize winner Svante Arrhenius.[4,7–17] After School of Medicine was founded, Bubanović was sent to Vienna to the laboratory of Otto von Fürth for training after which he started his work at Chemistry Department at School of Medicine in Zagreb. Starting new, he envisaged and fulfilled his vision about a modern chemistry department fully equipped for scientific research as well as teaching. It should be noted that chemistry and biochemistry was not taught only to medical students, but also to chemistry and pharmacy students at Faculty of Philosophy and to veterinary medicine students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb. After Bubanović was retired, Tomislav Pinter assumed his duties as Department Head. Tomislav Pinter also continued to coordinate chemistry classes, while Mihovil Proštenik led biochemistry classes. It is also worthwhile to mention, that even though Pinter’s scientific interests were related to Nikola Pušin, and Proštenik’s scientific work with Nobel prize winner Vladimir Prelog (1906–1998), they were primarily influenced by Bubanović who let them freely Figure 1. Professor Fran Bubanović, the founder of pursue their scientific interests, while shaping them as Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at School of excellent teachers.[1] Medicine University of Zagreb. TOMISLAV PINTER (1899–1980) period during which chemistry was taught by Bohuslav Jiruš (1841–1901).[1–3] It should be noted that professor Janeček Tomislav Pinter (Figure 2) was the Head of the Department was the first professor who taught physical chemistry as a for a quarter of a century, from 1945 until his retirement in separate course in the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire.[4,5] 1970. He was born on September 13th 1899 in Zagreb where Janeček’s students Fran Bubanović, who was Janeček’s he also finished his primary, secondary and university assistant at Faculty of Philosophy, Vladimir Njegovan and education. He studied chemistry with physics and Ivan Marek then established chemistry courses at other mathematics at Faculty of Philosophy. He was awarded a Faculties at the University of Zagreb: Bubanović at School doctorate in science in 1926 with thesis “On the viscosity in of Medicine, Njegovan and Marek at Technical Faculty.[1] the systems of binary organic liquid mixtures” (original title Professor Janeček is considered as a first Croatian chemist “O viskozitetu u sistemima binarnih organskih tekućih who introduced scientific research to the chemistry smjesa”) under the supervision of Nikola Pušin.[4] He education.[6] His approach to chemistry classes and started working at School of Medicine in 1924 as one of the laboratory work where science and teaching are first Bubanović’s assistants. Therefore, he was greatly intertwined was at that time absolutely modern and based influenced in his teaching style by Bubanović whom he on educational model of the best European Universities worked closely with for years. He was the president of the where professors enabled students to participate in Croatian Chemical Society from 1954 to 1955. An scientific research.[6] Janeček’s successor at Faculty of interesting fact is that the name of the journal Croatica Philosophy was Nikola (Nikolaj) Antonović Pušin Chemica Acta was actually Archives in Chemistry (original (1875−1947).[3–5] title Arhiv za kemiju) until Croatian Chemical Society during The founder of the Department of Chemistry and Pinter’s presidency in 1955 decided to change the name to Biochemistry at School of Medicine was professor Fran its current one, formally used since 1956.[18] Professor Croat. Chem. Acta 2019, 92(3), 435–442 DOI: 10.5562/cca3554 K. MLINAC-JERKOVIĆ et al.: Croatian Chemists Tomislav Pinter and Mihovil Proštenik 437 Figure 3. Cover page of a paper co-authored by Nikola Pušin Figure 2. Professor Tomislav Pinter. and Tomislav Pinter published in 1929.[26] Pinter was elected an extraordinary member of the Guajakol als Komponente”)[26] is still cited in scientific Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1963.[19–21] literature and the most recent citation dates to 2015![27] In Professor Pinter was a prominent scientist in the this work Pušin and Pinter presented the results of field of theoretical and experimental physical chemistry. He investigation on viscosity of binary systems containing was especially interested in chemical kinetics, guaiacol (Figure 3). The list of all Tomislav Pinter’s papers thermodynamics and theories and properties of liquid and can be found in Refs. [19–21,23]. gas state of matter.[19] In the field of chemical kinetics In addition to scientific papers, Pinter was the author he studied the catalytic effect of mercury ions on of many professional papers, as well as university texts and hexacyanoferrate(II) ion decomposition in aqueous textbooks. Amongst those, he was the sole author of solutions.[22,23] Pinter used this research as a basis to “Physical chemistry for medical students” textbook (original develop a colorimetric method for determination of trace title “Fizikalna kemija za medicinare”) which was published mercury ions in urine of