Page Comparison - The AMINCO-Bowman Spectrophotofluorometer (v.7 vs v.8)

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NHI scientists did not yet know at which wavelengths many biological compounds would fluoresce. If the new instrument could emit light at wavelengths throughout the ultraviolet range, scientists might be able to excite fluorescence in compounds that could have interesting research applications. The question was, if they learned more about fluorescence, would this be useful in a practical as well as theoretical sense?

Working with others at NHI, Dr. Bowman developed the first prototype of his spectrophotofluorometer in 1955. Unlike previous fluorometers, this new instrument was able to vary the wavelength of exciting light as well as measure the intensity and wavelength of the emitted fluorescent light. This instrument could be used to survey biological compounds and help scientists figure out new ways to use fluorescence to study the body.

If they learned more about fluorescence, would this be useful in a practical as well as theoretical sense?

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SPF project description sheet
photocopy of a government document

NIH project description sheet for the"development of Spectrophotofluorometry and its application to biological measurements," 1955

AMINCO Steps In

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AMINCO Steps In

Dr. Bowman had to improvise with his design. Authorized only to buy one expensive monochromator, for example, he built the other one from parts he obtained from his contacts in the New York junk shop trade. One of his parts, a Steinheil quartz prism spectrograph, had been "liberated" from Germany during the war. He made his first prototype SPF with a mixture of used and new parts, including diffraction gratings and mirrors attached to a stone benchtop and "glued" in place with wax."

Because of exciting results with the prototype, the American Instrument Company (AMINCO) of nearby Silver Spring, Maryland, became interested in marketing the new instrument. The company assigned an engineer, Hugh Howerton, to collaborate with Dr. Bowman on a commercial version of the SPF-one that could be made without wax and war relics. The first AMINCO-Bowman SPF was exhibited at the 1956 Pittsburgh Analytical Instrument Conference.

In order to build interest in its product and promote research in the field of fluorescence, AMINCO funded a postdoctoral fellowship in fluorescence analysis for research at the National Heart Institute. The first AMINCO fellow, Dr. Daniel Duggan, studied hundreds of fluorescent compounds. His research convinced Dr. Bowman and AMINCO that they should proceed with the production of the SPF.

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He made his first prototype SPF with a mixture of used and new parts.

AMINCO engineer Hugh Howerton presenting a symposium about the SPF. Dr. Bowman is seated in the front row

Dr. Daniel Duggan, a postdoctoral fellow at NHI, with the first laboratory prototype of the SPF

In the 1950s and 1960s, AMINCO marketed the SPF to the research field. Company sales representatives traveled across the country to train university faculty and other scientists how to use the instrument. The company even launched a newsletter called Fluorescence News.

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Dr. Sidney Udenfriend used the SPF to test the fluorescence of different substances that would be of interest to biological scientists. To the amazement of the profession, he detected fluorescence in many molecules that had not been known to fluoresce! He and Dr. Bowman published a paper on the results of the early experiments with the SPF. Later, Dr. Udenfriend edited two volumes entitled Fluorescence Assay in Biology and Medicine. These works helped other scientists create new ways to use fluorescence in their own research.

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The Nobel Prize Winner (1960s)

By 1955 Dr. Julius Axelrod-Dr. Brodie's former lab technician-had moved on to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and was working on his own experiments. He began using the new SPF in his research on what are now known as neurotransmitters in 1957.

"The SPF . . . changed the direction of the whole field of neurobiology," wrote Dr. Axelrod, looking back on his experience. He used the SPF to trace and measure tiny amounts of norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain. These neurotransmitters were present in the body in such minute amounts that no previously existing technology could have detected them. This research led to the development of antidepressant drugs such as Prozac. In 1970 Dr. Axelrod was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with neurotransmitters.

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Photograph of Drs. Axelrod and Bowman
Dr. Julius Axelrod, left, with Dr. Robert Bowman

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Old Version 7

New Version 8

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AMINCO Steps In

AMINCO Steps In

The Nobel Prize Winner (1960s)

Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum