Bartolomeo Gosio, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Bartolomeo Gosio

Italian physician, microbiologist and biochemist

Date of Birth: 17-Mar-1863

Place of Birth: Magliano Alfieri, Piedmont, Italy

Date of Death: 13-Apr-1944

Profession: physician, biochemist, microbiologist

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Bartolomeo Gosio (17 March 1863 – 13 April 1944) was an Italian medical scientist.
He discovered a toxic fume, eponymously named "Gosio gas", which is produced by microorganisms, that killed many people.
He identified the chemical nature of the gas as an arsenic compound (arsine), but incorrectly named it as diethylarsine.
He also discovered an antibacterial compound called mycophenolic acid from the mould Penicillium brevicompactum.
He demonstrated that the novel compound was effective against the deadly anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis.
This was the first antibiotic compound isolated in pure and crystallised form.
Though the original compound was abandoned in clinical practice due to its adverse effects, its chemical derivative mycophenolate mofetil became the drug of choice as an immunosuppressant in kidney, heart, and liver transplantations.