Vigneaud

Vincent du Vigneaud was an American biochemist renowned for his work on the biochemistry of peptides and proteins, particularly sulfur-containing amino acids, and for the first synthesis of a peptide hormone. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1955 for these contributions and for advancing the chemical understanding of how peptides are built.

One of du Vigneaud’s most celebrated achievements was the complete chemical synthesis of the peptide hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, demonstrating that biological activity could be reproduced from a defined sequence of amino acids. His research also underscored the importance of disulfide bonds in stabilizing protein structure and function, and it helped establish foundational methods in peptide synthesis and amino acid chemistry.

Throughout his career, du Vigneaud conducted pioneering work that bridged chemistry and biology, influencing the development of peptide chemistry and pharmaceutical approaches to hormone biology. His discoveries illustrated how targeted chemical approaches could elucidate complex biological systems and enable practical applications in medicine. He lived from 1901 to 1978, leaving a lasting impact on the field of biochemistry and the study of peptide hormones.