I really enjoyed this article on Alfred Bader by Linda Wang in this week's C&EN. Here's a neat tidbit:
N-Methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, which was used in the preparation of diazomethane. MNNG was marketed through the company's first catalog, in 1951, a one-page document that grew to become the Aldrich Handbook. Sigma-Aldrich no longer sells MNNG, a potent mutagen and carcinogen.Click through to watch the video on people's varying uses of the Aldrich handbook.
Bader actually made an appointment to come and visit me in the UK.
ReplyDeleteI had just published an Org. Syn. prep and asked me to write a review for Aldrich Chimica Acta, which I did. As a reward I received 200 copies of that issue. I still have 199.
In fact, it’s his birthday today!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, he’s a really remarkable individual. There are all sorts of gems like above in his autobiography.
CJ: I am not sure about you, but I met Dr. Alfred Bader in Canada during my post doctoral years . He specially enjoys interacting with graduate students and post doctoral fellows. You could pretty much say the reagent was good/or it sucks etc. He is very affable and took us out to lunch after discussing chemistry! I wasn't aware that he is a Canadian citizen and left tons of money for the Queens University, Kingston. He is down to Earth good fellow and his tribe especially during these days are very rare!
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