Question

Whose search for chemicals that would kill microbes without harming humans was the foundation for chemotherapy?

A) Gram B) Pasteur C) Ehrlich D) Lister E) Koch

Answer 1

Paul Ehrlich's research in the early 20th century is the foundation for chemotherapy, having discovered Salvarsan, the 'magic bullet' against syphilis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The search for chemicals that would kill microbes without harming humans, which laid the groundwork for the field of chemotherapy, was conducted by Paul Ehrlich. In the early 20th century, Ehrlich and his assistant Sahachiro Hata actively engaged in a strategy to systematically screen chemical compounds in pursuit of a 'magic bullet' that could treat infectious diseases. In 1909, they discovered Compound 606, an arsenic-containing chemical that proved to be effective against the bacterium Treponema pallidum, responsible for syphilis. This compound was later marketed as Salvarsan, and Ehrlich's method for drug discovery remains influential to this day.