Polarography – major contribution of Jaroslav Heyrovský to the intensive therapy

Czech version

Authors: Pokorný Jiří; Dvořáček Bořivoj; Slánská Marie
Authors‘ workplace: Komise pro historii oboru ČSARIM
Published in: Anest. intenziv. Med., 20, 2009, č. 3, s. 165-167
Category: History

Overview

Polarography is an electrochemical method enabling the analysis and quantitative measurement of very small quantities of a number of substances, among others the oxygen. This method has been elaborated by Czech physical chemist Jaroslav Heyrovský. He introduced the dropping mercury electrode for measuring current and after having connected a sensitive galvanometer he began to measure and record continuously even minute quantities of oxygen in fluids, among other media in blood. He called the method polarography and developed it for practical use in laboratories and upheld it worldwide. For this invention Heyrovsky was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1959.

Keywords:
polarography – dropping mercury electrode – intensive care medicine

Sources

1. Heyrovsky, J. Electrolysis with the dropping mercury electrode. Chemické listy, 1922, 16, s. 256.

2. Heyrovsky, J., Shikata, M. Researches with the dropping mercury cathode. Part II. The polarograph. Recl. Trav. Chim. Pays Bas., 1925, 44, s. 496.

3. Brdička, R. To the sixtieth birthday of professor J. Heyrovský – An account of his scientific acheivements to 1950. Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications XV, 1950, s. 689–692.

4. Astrup, P., Severinghaus, J. W. The History of Blood Gases, Acids and Bases. Copenhagen: Munksgaard 1986.

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Article was published in

Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine

2009 Issue 3