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Friedrich Georg Carl (Friedrich) Gaedcke (5 June 1828 – 19 September 1890) was a German chemist. He was the first person to isolate the cocaine alkaloid in 1855.

Life

Gaedcke worked in a pharmacy in Rostock and studied in Rostock between 1850 and 1851. In 1856, he took over a pharmacy in Dömitz which he ran for 34 years.

Discovery of Cocaine

Working with coca leaves, Gaedcke isolated the cocaine molecule.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). He described the alkaloid as being of small crystal molecules with needle-like points on four to six sides. He reported the numbing effects of the molecule on himself following a small tongue test. Gaedcke's research received little attention at the time of its publication but would come to prominence a few years later following further work by Albert Niemann and scientists.

References

1. Luch, Andreas (2009-04-03). Molecular, Clinical and Environmental Toxicology. Basel Boston: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 20. ISBN 978-3-7643-8336-7.
2. ^ West, Krista (2008). Cocaine and Crack. Infobase Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-4381-1822-2.
3. Zaunick R. (1956). "Early history of cocaine isolation: Domitzer pharmacist Friedrich Gaedcke (1828–1890); contribution to Mecklenburg pharmaceutical history". Beitr Gesch Pharm Ihrer Nachbargeb. 7 (2): 5–15. PMID 13395966.

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