Professor Robert Schwyzer, formerly ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has passed away on September 29, 2015.
Professor Schwyzer’s research focused on biochemistry and molecular biology, especially the structure and function of biologically active polypeptides. He was instrumental in the development of the peptide drug angiotensin.
Robert Schwyzer studied chemistry at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he received his Ph.D. in 1947 under the supervision of Paul Karrer. In 1952, he joined CIBA, Basel, Switzerland, founding a research unit focused on peptides. In 1963, Schwyzer was appointed Professor for Molecular Biology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, where he remained until his retirement in 1988.
Among other honors, Professor Schwyzer received the Otto Naegeli Prize by the by the Otto Naegeli Foundation in 1964, the Stouffer Prize by the Vernon Stouffer Foundation in 1968, the Paul Karrer Gold Medal by by the University of Zurich in 1969, and the Allan E. Pierce Award by the American Peptide Society in 1985.
Selected Publications
- Peptide-membrane interactions and a new principle in quantitative structure-activity relationships,
Robert Schwyzer,
Biopolymers 1991, 31, 785–792.
DOI: 10.1002/bip.360310624 - Membrane lipid phase as catalyst for peptide-receptor interactions,
D. F. Sargent, R. Schwyzer,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1986, 83, 5774–5778.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.83.16.5774 - Molecular mechanism of opioid receptor selection,
Robert Schwyzer,
Biochemistry 1986, 25, 6335–6342.
DOI: 10.1021/bi00368a075 - Estimated conformation, orientation, and accumulation of dynorphin A-(1-13)-tridecapeptide on the surface of neutral lipid membranes,
Robert Schwyzer,
Biochemistry 1986, 25, 4281–4286.
DOI: 10.1021/bi00363a016 - Conformational changes of adrenocorticotropin peptides upon interaction with lipid membranes revealed by infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy,
Hans Ulrich Gremlich, Urs Peter Fringeli, Robert Schwyzer,
Biochemistry 1983, 22, 4257–4264.
DOI: 10.1021/bi00287a015 - Limitations of Affinity Chromatography: Solvolytic Detachment of Ligands from Polymeric Supports,
Godefridus Ignatius Tesser, Hans-Ulrich Fisch, Robert Schwyzer,
Helv. Chim. Acta 1974, 57, 1718–1730.
DOI: 10.1002/hlca.19740570624
