Dr. Christian Anfinsen published The Molecular Basis of Evolution in 1959. It was partly a basic primer on genetics and evolution for chemists, and partly a manifesto for the importance of chemistry to molecular biology, genetics, and evolutionary theory. The book was Anfinsen’s statement of belief and motivation, and through it he inspired many younger scientists.

You can download and read The Molecular Basis of Evolution at https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/KKBBLS.pdf
pdf (18,226,034 Bytes)

Take a peek inside the book.

This chromatography column from Pharmacia Fine Chemicals is one kind used in Anfinsen’s laboratory for affinity chromatography, a method that he began using in the 1960s to purify samples of the protein Staphylococcal nuclease, which enabled him to pinpoint the exact positions of the 149 individual amino acid units and their peptide bonds.

Other types of chromatography separate molecules based on size, differences in chemical or physical interactions, or strength of their ionic interactions. In affinity chromatography, a molecule called a “ligand” that binds to a specific receptor, is anchored to solid support. When a solution is passed over it, the ligand binds to the specific molecule that has an “affinity,” or natural bond, with it. After the other components of the solution are washed away, the now purified molecule is stripped from its support.

Chromatography Column Artifacts page