Ehrlichs Magic Bullet

K. Strebhardt, and A. Ullrich, Paul Ehrlichs magic bullet concept 100 years of progress. Nature Reviews Cancer, 8 (6), 473-480,2008. 

E phases, calamities 12 edge disclinations, chiral nematics 354 Ehrlich magic bullet, chromonics 984 elastic constants 63, 79 ff... 

A. Ehrlich called salvarsan the magic bullet for its nontoxic effect to humans and to its toxicity against the organism responsible for syphilis. 

In 1900 Paul Ehrlich proposed that the antigen-antibody interaction could be exploited to produce antibodies that target and neutralize specific antigens. The well-known magic bullet theory suggested the potential of using antibodies to treat an array of diseases. However, the implementation of this concept into practice would face many challenges [7],... 

Paul Ehrlich s "magic bullet" for syphilis (arsphenamine, Salvarsan) was an arsenical. 

Researchers have chemically linked toxins to antibodies and targeted them for cancer tissue, for example. These could be the pharmaceuticals which are the closest yet to Ehrlich s "magic bullets". 

The foundations for the generation of novel pharmaceuticals, the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), were laid approximately 30 years ago. Due to their ability to selectively hit a specific target, the mAbs can be regarded as very closely fitting the concept first proposed by Paul Ehrlich, a century ago, of a magic bullet to treat medical disorders. 

Ehrlich embarked on his search for magic bullets to treat parasitic disease with a vast supply of new chemicals from the German dye industry. In 1909 Ehrlich discovered the first effective cure for syphilis, compound 606 (also called Salvarsan). For his insight and this achievement Ehrlich is known as the father of chemotherapy, see also Dyes. 

In 1910, Ehrlich made a historic discovery while investigating one of these arsenicals, the antisyphilitic drug arsphenamine. This particular drug, with the laboratory code designation 606, was so effective in laboratory tests that it was announced as a cure for the dreaded disease and was referred to as a magic bullet . Although the marketed form of the chemical, Salvarsan, ultimately proved to be too toxic for human use, arsphenamine was the opening event in the chemotherapeutic revolution for the treatment of human infections. 

Winau F, Westphal O, Winau R (2004) Paul Ehrlich - in search of the magic bullet. Microb Infect 6 786-789... 

Paul Ehrlich, the father of immunology and chemotherapy, discovered Salvarsan, an arsenical magic bullet (a favorite phrase of his) used to treat syphilis. He hypothesized at the beginning of this century that it might be possible to find a dye that would selectively stain, or dye, a bacterial cell and thus destroy it. In 19321.G. Farbenindustrie patented a new azo dye, Prontosil, which they put through routine testing for chemotherapeutic activity when it was noted it had particular affinity for protein fibers like silk. 

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