[Volodymyr Petrovych Vendt--a founder of sceintific trends in photobiochemistry and biotechnology in Ukraine].
Professor Volodymyr Petrovych Vendt (30.11.1906, Kremenchug, Ukraine-22.11.1997, Kyiv, Ukraine), Doctor of science (biol.), Laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine graduated from the Odessa Physico-Pharmaceutical Institute (1930) in speciality chemist-analyst and was assigned to work at the Ukrainian Institute of Pathology and Labour Hygiene in Kharkiv. He was soon taken on as a scientific worker at the Ukrainian Institute of Experimental Medicine. He defended his thesis for the Candidate's degree and acquired the academic status of the senior scientific worker in 1939, and that of docent (assistant professor) in 1940. In 1938-1941 Volodymyr Petrovych read lectures at the Department of Chemistry of the Academy of Service Corps of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. At that time his scientific interests were connected with development of simple express-methods for detecting various substances, including chemical weed- and pest-killers which were used in agriculture. In 1944-1946 V. P. Vendt took part in military operations at the 1st Ukrainian Front, and after the release he was taken on as the senior scientific worker at the Institute of Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, where he worked during 47 years. In 1961, after defending the thesis for the Doctor's degree Volodymyr Petrovych acquired the academic status of professor. In 1963 V. P. Vendt became a head of the Laboratory and then (1966) - of the Deaprtment of Photobiochemistry and from 1976 to 1983 - the Department of Sterol Biochemistry. He was the first to make the broad-scale investigations of sterol biochemistry, first of all group D vitamins, and came close to finding out the action mechanism of vitamin D3 - cholecalciferol. V. P. Vendt was one of the first to show a possibility of formation of sterene complexes with proteins and to find out the nature of chemical relations between them. That made it possible to develop the methods of obtaining artificial protein-vitamin complexes of high activity on the basis of casein (or other proteins) with preparations of vitamins D2, D3, E, carotene. Vitamin industry of the USSR used the technology, elaborated by V. P. Vendt, for the industrial production of vitamin D3 (videin D3) for poultry farming and medicine. He offered the method of early diagnosis of D-hypovitaminosis in chickens and developed and put into medical practice the methods of early diagnosis of rachitis in children and the degree of the disease risk by the umbilical blood analysis. V. P. Vendt and R. I. Yakhymovych were the first to obtain crystalline vitamin D3 and its complex with cholesterol (videchol) which was successfully used for rachitis prophylaxis and therapy in children. V. P. Vendt is the author of above 200 scientific works, 17 author's certificates and inventions. The scientific school of V. P. Vendt numbers 4 doctors and 16 candidates of science and above 60 research workers. The selfless work of the scientist was marked by state awards--by six medals and the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology "For investigations in vitamin D chemistry and biochemistry, creation of industrial technology of its production and introduction into medicine and agriculture" (jointly with R. I. Yakhymovych).
D001671:Biochemistry / Q000266:history*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D010777:Photochemistry / Q000266:history*; D014455:Ukraine