Yehiel Gaoni
| Yehiel Gaoni | |
|---|---|
 Yehiel Gaoni.jpg | |
| Born | September 1, 1928 Jerusalem, Israel |
| 💀Died | May 14, 2017 Tel Aviv, IsraelMay 14, 2017 |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Synthesis of tetrahydrocannabinol and major contributions to the chemistry of cannabinoids. |
Yehiel Gaoni (1 September 1928 - 14 May 2017) was an Israeli organic chemist and a professor at the Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science at the Weitzmann Institute of Science, mainly known for his work (together with Rafael Mechoulam) in the isolation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active principle of cannabis.[1][2]
Biography
Gaoni was born in Jerusalem on September 1, 1928. As a child, he grew up in Tiberias before moving to Petah Tikva during his adolescence. He graduated from Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in 1946. After briefly serving in the Notrim, he pursued higher education in chemistry at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he married and earned his Ph.D. in 1958. The family returned to Israel shortly thereafter, and Gaoni joined the Weizmann Institute of Science. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago in 1961–62 before returning to Weizmann, where he worked for nearly four decades. He was promoted to full professor in 1988, retiring in 1996. Gaoni passed away in Tel Aviv on May 14, 2017.[3]
Research
In 1962 Gaoni started working with Raphael Mechoulam on the research of Hasish. In 1964 they published a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society describing the isolation, structure elucidation, and partial synthesis of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive compound in cannabis[4]. The research was based on samples of hashish obtained through official channels and involved separation and analysis using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. It was the first time THC had been identified and synthesized in pure form.[5]
In subsequent work, Gaoni and Mechoulam clarified the structures and stereochemistry of THC and reported the identification of additional cannabinoids, itncluding cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG)[6]. These publications laid the groundwork for subsequent studies on the pharmacological effects of cannabinoids and the later discovery of the endocannabinoid system.[7]
The Israeli Peres Center for Peace and Innovation has selected the breakthrough of THC and CBD isolation as one of the 100 most important discoveries in the history of Israeli innovation.[8]
In addition to his work on cannabis, Gaoni is also known for his efforts to develop more efficient chemical processes. He developed several innovative chemical processes that helped reduce reaction times and minimize the amount of waste generated in chemical reactions. His work on streamlining chemical processes has had a significant impact on the field of organic chemistry, making chemical synthesis more efficient and environmentally friendly.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ "The History of Medical Cannabis". Syqe. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ Appendino, Giovanni (2020-12-01). "The early history of cannabinoid research". Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali. 31 (4): 919–929. doi:10.1007/s12210-020-00956-0. ISSN 1720-0776.
- ↑ "In memoriam | Faculty of Chemistry". www.weizmann.ac.il. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ Gaoni, Y.; Mechoulam, R. (1964-04-01). "Isolation, Structure, and Partial Synthesis of an Active Constituent of Hashish". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 86 (8): 1646–1647. Bibcode:1964JAChS..86.1646G. doi:10.1021/ja01062a046. ISSN 0002-7863.
- ↑ Appendino, Giovanni (2020-12-01). "The early history of cannabinoid research". Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali. 31 (4): 919–929. doi:10.1007/s12210-020-00956-0. ISSN 1720-0776.
- ↑ "The Scientific History of Cannabinoids". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ Crocq, Marc-Antoine (September 2020). "History of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system". Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 22 (3): 223–228. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.3/mcrocq. ISSN 1958-5969. PMC 7605027 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 33162765 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "Discovery of the active compounds of cannabis: one of the 100 peak moments in Israeli innovation (in Hebrew: גילוי רכיבי הקנאביס: אחד מ-100 רגעי השיא בחדשנות הישראלית)". Cannabis X Magazine. November 5, 2018.
- ↑ "Yehiel Gaoni's research while affiliated with Weizmann Institute of Science and other places". ResearchGate.
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