M. M. SHEMYAKIN'S WORK ON ANTIBIOTICS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700190189-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 189
• Publication Date: July 14, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700190189-1 f
LANGUAGE
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Scientific - Chemistry, antibiotics
HOW
PUBLISHED Bimonthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Idoscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Feb 1954
REPORT
CD N0.
DATE OF
SI;PPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
I_zvestiya Akademii ::auk SSSR, Otdeleni;;e h'ltimicheski'-h Ilan'-, ir'o 1,
PP 191192
hl. I!. SHEMYhKIA'S ;?7CRK Ofl A1iTiIITCPICS
id. M. Shemya}an was elected Corresrondiq~ ttember? o.^ the ,',cademy of
Sciences USSR, in the sp~,ciality of organic chemistry. at a meet!^ of t;he
Department of Cnemica7 Sciences o!' t!te A-ademy meld or. 1~-~0 Gctob~r 1)S3.
Shemyakin has complete e:;aeter~; of tt:e theor?; and c::perim~nt.al tech-
nigt~es in the field of or~,anic chemistr?; . Recently he has become th;: fommost
Soviet spcrialist in the chemi:-t,y, of mttibictics. !;!;em;;~ in 's book 'i'he Ch_ emictr~
of Nntibiotics (fihimi;,;u Antibiotikov;, ?,aitich is well-known, has already been
published in a second edition. Among iris ac~,ievements are the s?mtt:eses of
syrthomycin and levomycetin, substanr,es ?..hic". he ha:: introdurel and which
are the most effective drugs against varie~.,s ^crms of t;; ph us, tray-homy, and
dysentery,
Shemyakin has published a great number of original scientific investi-
gations which deal with various problems oi' organic chemistry. 0: great
importance is the theor;; oi' the hydrolytic splitting o; the C-C bond, which
was discovered by him; it disclosed the causes, character, and mechanism of
many commonly encountered types o_? chemir_al conversions. Oae ems t emphasize
that on the basis of this theory Shemyakin succeeded .in erpluining many im-
portant transformations ~f tits following antibiotics: aetidione, humulone,
the streptomycins, and othe~sa In connection with this work, the explanation
of the formation of maltoi from streptomycin 1s particularly interesting, be-
cavse it clarifies the transition from straight-chain carbohydrates to branched
carbohydrates. Frcm the standpoint of the same theory, Shemyakin explained
the nature of the reactions of transamination and e.lphe-decarbo::ylation of
amino acids, beta-decarboxylation of aminodica:?boxylic acids, the fission of
gamma-keto-alpha-aminoacl3a, unu many other biochemical transformations.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
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COHF'DENTIAL
Among other theoretical Investigations done by Shemyakin one may note his
research or. the chemistry of aldehyde acids, which has elucidated completely
the structure of these compounds and has enabled him to find general methods
for the transformation of aldehyde acids into compounds of the gvinoline and
isoquinoline series, In connection with this work he first investigated the
thermal decomposition of salts of aldehyde acids, and then of salts of car-
boxylic acids in general. Also important is Shemyakin's work in the field of
other carbonyl compounds, particularly quirones, which has culminated at pres-
ent in the development of a general method for the conversion of giiinones and
their derivatives into diketocarboxylic acids, hydroxydiketocarboxylic acids,
and triketocarboxyllc acids of the aiicyclic and aromatic series.
Of great practical interest is Shemvakin's work in the fie id of sulfa
drugs, on the preparation of soluble sulfonamides, etc. His icvestigations
in the field of vitamin chemistry },ave yielde3 very valuable results. Sh~m-
yakin has studied in particular detail problems pertaining to tautomeric
transformations in the vitamin B6 group and clarified the significance of
pyridoxal phosphate in amino acid metabolism.
50X1-HUM
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700190189-1