17 September 1965 (crystals observed) / East Asia
Chinese teams synthesize crystalline bovine insulin
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking University jointly achieved the total chemical synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin with biological activity.
The story
Crystals of totally synthesized bovine insulin were observed on 17 September 1965. Teams at the Shanghai Institutes of Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry and Peking University’s chemistry department shared work on peptide synthesis, assembly and activity. This was chemical synthesis of bovine insulin, distinct from later recombinant human insulin and from establishing large-scale commercial manufacture.
Connections and context
Chemical synthesis offered another way to investigate protein structure and function. The milestone depended on institutional collaboration, repeated validation and accumulated methods rather than one isolated contributor.
Dates and precision
17 September 1965 (crystals observed) Documented date
Positioned by the documented year, month or day. Missing precision is not inferred.
Representative map location
Shanghai
The marker represents a major Shanghai research setting; the project also involved Peking University in Beijing.
Representative coordinates · 31.208°, 121.451°
A marker identifies one representative place, such as a manuscript collection, laboratory or observing site. It does not mean the work happened only there, or assign a shared discovery to one country.
Bibliography
- Chinese Academy of Sciences: crystalline bovine insulin synthesis records
- 中国科学院：中国人工合成牛胰岛素成果历史
- 中国科学院上海营养与健康研究所：结晶牛胰岛素合成回顾
References are listed as plain bibliography titles. They support particular facts or context; a reference does not certify every interpretation in a story.