Karl Binz

Life & Legacy

Karl Binz (1 July 1832 – 11 January 1913) was a German physician and pharmacologist born in Bernkastel. He is known for his investigations on the pharmacological properties and effects of quinine.
He studied at the Universities of Würzburg and Bonn, later working at the University of Berlin in the pathological institute of Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) and at the clinic of Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs (1819–1885). In 1868 he became an associate professor at Bonn, and several years later founded its pharmacological institute (1873). In 1885/86 he was university rector. During the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) he served as a staff physician.
In 1867 he discovered that quinine was highly toxic to micro-organisms in impure water, and demonstrated that quinine hydrochlorate with neutral or slightly basic reaction was an effective poison for the protoplasms of decomposing plants and impeded many fermenting and putrid processes. In addition to his research of quinine, he performed extensive pharmacological tests on arsenic, halogens and associated compounds, sleep-inducing substances, et al. The eponymous "Binz' test" is a qualitative test for the presence of quinine in urine.