WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Wasserman test589•
but its discovery changed the course of modern medicine. Not
only did it directly save countless lives, but its development
stimulated scientists around the globe to search the microbial
world for other antibiotics and medicines.
In 1949, Waksman isolated neomycin, which proved
effective against bacteria that had become resistant to strepto-
mycin. Neomycin also found a broad niche as a topical antibi-
otic. Other antibiotics soon came forth from his Institute of
Microbiology. These included streptocin, framicidin, erlichin,
candidin, and others. Waksman himself discovered eighteen
antibiotics during the course of his career.
Waksman served as director of the Institute for
Microbiology until his retirement in 1958. Even after that
time, he continued to supervise research there. He also lec-
tured widely and continued to write at the frenetic pace estab-
lished early in his career. He eventually published more than
twenty-five books, among them the autobiography My Life
with the Microbes,and hundreds of articles. He was author of
popular pamphlets on the use of thermophilic (heat-loving)
microorganisms in composting and on the enzymes involved
in jelly-making. He wrote biographies of several noted micro-
biologists, including his own mentor, Jacob Lipman. These
works are in addition to his numerous publications in the
research literature.
On August 16, 1973, Waksman died suddenly in
Hyannis, Massachusetts, of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was
buried near the institute to which he had contributed so much
over the years. Waksman’s honors over his professional career
were many and varied. In addition to the 1952 Nobel Prize,
Waksman received the French Legion of Honor, a Lasker
award for basic medical science, elected a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
received numerous commendations from academies and
scholarly societies around the world.See alsoAntibiotic resistance, tests for; Bacteria and bacterial
infection; Streptococci and streptococcal infectionsVONWASSERMAN, AUGUSTPAUL
(1866-1925)von Wasserman, August Paul
German bacteriologistAugust Paul von Wasserman was a German physician and
bacteriologist. He is most noteworthy in the history of micro-
biologyfor his invention of the first test for the sexually trans-
mitted disease of syphilis. The test is known as the
Wasserman test.
Wasserman was born in 1866 in Bamberg, Germany. His
entire education was received in that country. Wasserman
received his undergraduate bacteriology degree and medical
training at the universities of Erlanger, Vienna, Munich, and
Strasbourg. He graduated from Strasbourg in 1888. Beginning
in 1890, Wasserman joined Robert Kochat the latter’s Institute
for Infectious Diseases in Berlin. He became head of the insti-
tute’s Department of Therapeutics and Serum research in 1907.
In 1913, Wasserman left the Koch institute and joined the fac-ulty at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, where he served as the
Director of Experimental Therapeutics until his death in 1925.
Wasserman is remembered for a number of bacteriolog-
ical accomplishments. He devised a test for tuberculosisand
developed an antitoxin that was active against diphtheria. But
his most noteworthy accomplishment occurred while he was
still at the Institute for Infectious Diseases. In 1906, he devel-
oped a test for the presence of Treponema pallidumin humans.
The bacterium is a spirochaete and is the cause of syphilis. The
test became known as the Wasserman test.
The basis of the test is the production of antibodies to
the syphilis bacterium and the ability of those antibodies to
combine with known antigens in a solution. The antibody-
antigen combination prevents a component called complement
from subsequently destroying red blood cells. Clearing of the
test solution (e.g., destruction of the red blood cells) is diag-
nostic for the absence of antibodies to Treponema pallidum.
The Wasserman test represents the first so-called com-
plement test. In the decades since its introduction the
Wasserman’s test for syphilis has been largely superseded by
other methods. But, the test is still reliable enough to be per-
formed even to the present day in the diagnosis of syphilis.See alsoComplement; Sexually transmitted diseasesWWasserman testASSERMAN TEST
The Wasserman test is used to diagnose the illness known as
syphilis. The test is named after its developer, the German
bacteriologist August Wasserman (1866–1925). The
Wasserman test was devised in 1906.
The Wasserman test is used to detect the presence of the
bacterium that causes syphilis, the spirochete (spiral-shaped
microorganism) Treponema pallidum. The basis of the test is
the reaction of the immune systemto the presence of the bac-
terium. Specifically, the test determines the presence or
absence of an antibodythat is produced in response to the pres-
ence of a constituent of the membrane of Treponema pallidum.
The particular constituent is the membrane phospholipid.
The Wasserman test represents one of the earliest appli-
cations of an immunological reaction that is termed comple-
mentfixation. In the test, a patient’s serum is heated to destroy
a molecule called complement. A known amount of comple-
ment (typically from a guinea pig) is then added to the
patient’s serum. Next, the antigen(the bacterial phospholipid)
is added along with red blood cells from sheep. The natural
action of complement is to bind to the red blood cells and
cause them to lyse (burst). Visually, this is evident as a clear-
ing of the red-colored suspension. However, if the added anti-
gen has bound to antibody that is present in the suspension, the
complement becomes associated with the antigen-antibody
complex. In technical terms, the complement is described
being “fixed.” Thus, if lysis of the red blood cells does not
occur, then antibody to Treponema pallidumis present in the
patient’s serum, and allows a positive diagnosis for syphilis.
The Wasserman test is still used in the diagnosis of
syphilis. However, the test has been found to be limiting, aswomi_W 5/7/03 10:17 AM Page 589