1902-1971

Swedish Biochemist

Arne Tiselius was a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who helped to develop techniques for separating mixtures of proteins into their individual components. These methods allowed researchers to obtain specific proteins for further study.

Arne Tiselius was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1902, and he became interested in chemistry during childhood. He went on to study this subject at Uppsala University. A major factor in his decision to attend this school was the presence of Theodor Svedberg (1884-1971), a well-known chemist. By 1924, Tiselius had earned his master's degree in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. He remained at the university in order to work as a research assistant to Svedberg.

Svedberg was interested in isolating individual proteins from organisms. One of the techniques he considered using was electrophoresis. In this technique, a mixture of electrically charged molecules (such as proteins) is placed in an...