Final answer:
James B. Sumner crystallized urease in 1926, marking the first isolation of an enzyme. Despite initial skepticism, his work was later recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946.
Step-by-step explanation:
The work of James B. Sumner was to crystallize urease , which is the first enzyme that was isolated. Sumner's groundbreaking work took place in 1926, when he successfully crystallized urease, an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolytic decomposition of urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. His discovery initially faced skepticism as it was not believed that enzymes could be crystallized in the same way as other chemicals. However, Sumner's findings ultimately gained acceptance within the scientific community and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 for this work.