By. Mike Carrier

Carl and Gerty Cori were born and lived in Prague Czechoslovakia and they both studied at the German University of Prague

Background

Glycogen is a polymer of glucose

Glycogen is used by many living organisms to store energy

Glycogen is found in the liver

Converted into lactic acid

Prior Knowledge

Discovered that the formation of glucose-1-phosphate is linked to glycogen

Glucose-1-phosphate is used to transport glucose to muscle cells from the liver

When the muscle cells use the glucose, they produce lactic acid

The lactic acid is then transported back to the liver and is used to reform glycogen

Cori cycle

Glucose-1-Phosphate

The Coris succeeded in purifying the glucose-1-phosphate

The main problem faced when purifying and enzyme, many enzyme-catalyzed reactions are reversible

The Coris had to wisely choose the enzyme inhibitors, to isolate the enzymes carrying out the reactions

Cori Ester

Carl and Gerty Cori’s discovery helped further knowledge in cardohydrate metabolic processes and the discovery of the Cori cycle greatly helped improve the treatment of diabetes later on.

In 1947 the Coris won the Nobel prize for psychology or medicine

Later on

Cori, Carl and Gerty, Robert K. Griffith,

http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Co-Di/Cori-Carl-and-Gerty.html

Carl Ferdinand Cori and Gerty Theresa Cori, Chemical Heritage Foundation,

http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/cori-and-cori.aspx

Gerty Cori, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerty_Cori

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947, Carl Cori, Gerty Cori, Bernardo Houssay, The Official Web Site of the Nobel Prize,

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1947/cori-cf-bio.html

Bibliography