RF Annual Report - 1935 - The Rockefeller Foundation

140 THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
In 1934 the Foundation appropriated #11,750
to the University of Chicago for research on the
spectroscopic analysis of such body fluids as
blood, spinal fluid, urine, bile acids, and their
hormone, vitamin, and enzyme constituents.
During thefirst year of the work, most of the
technical difficulties arising from refinement of
methods and apparatus were solved. Two of the
junior investigators associated with the project
had previously used spectroscopic methods for
the analysis of plant pigments. In this way there
were determined the location and nature of the
absorption bands for A and B chlorophyl, which,
in turn, led to a quantitative determination of
the relative amounts of A and B chlorophyl in
a mixture. The originality and promise of these
methods led to a widening of the scope of the
work to include a variety of biological fluids and
tissues. Encouraging progress has been made in
studies of the male and female sex hormones and
in more basic studies in sterol chemistry.
The present grant provides salaries of various
investigators, supplies, and a sum for the purchase
of a special motor generator set which
furnishes electric current at a particularly constant
voltage. The University of Chicago provides
laboratory space, general maintenance,
certain specialized and expensive apparatus, as
well as clerical and unskilled services,
© 2003 The Rockefeller Foundation