John Bennett Fenn

John Bennett Fenn is a chemist. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2002 together with Koichi Tanaka and Kurt Wüthrich, for their work on biological macromolecules. John Fenn developed a new technique in mass spectrometry which was called “electrospray ionization”. It is a method used to obtain exact molecular weights of compounds and is used as a key process in identifying the roles of proteins, carbohydrates, and many other large, complex and non-volatile biological molecules.

The primary application of Fenn’s work is in the pharmaceutical research. The experimental compounds are developed more quickly and efficiently. This method led to the development of protease inhibitors, drugs used in the treatment of HIV and hepatitis C.

Fenn also authored books titled“Engines and Entropy: A Thermodynamics Primer” 1982,
“Mechanisms of Electrospray Ionization” 2000.

CHEMIST (Mass Spectrometry)