Georges-Simon Serullas (2 November 1774 in
Poncin – 25 May 1832 in
Paris) was a French pharmacist. He was a professor of
pharmacy notable for being the first to publish a work on
Iodoform, an early
antiseptic and
disinfectant.
He was one of the first researchers to draw attention to the
haloform reaction. In 1822, Serullas added potassium metal to a solution of
iodine in
ethanol and water to form potassium formate and
iodoform, called in the language of that time hydroiodide of carbon,[1] and used as an antiseptic.
Observations physico-chimiques sur les alliages du potassium et du sodium avec d’autrs métaux ; propriétés nouvelles de ces alliages servant à expliquer le phénomène de l’inflammation spontanée du pyrophore et la cause des mouvemens du camphre sur l’eau. Antimoine arsenical dans le commerce. Metz, Antoine, September 1820.
Second mémoire sur les alliages du potassium et sur l’existence de l’arsenic dans les préparations antimoniales usitées en médecine. Metz, Antoine, May 1821.
References
^Georges-Simon Surellas,
Notes sur l'Hydriodate de potasse et l'Acide hydriodique. – Hydriodure de carbone; moyen d'obtenir, à l'instant, ce composé triple [Notes on the hydroiodide of potassium and on hydroiodic acid – hydroiodide of carbon; means of obtaining instantly this compound of three elements] (Metz, France: Antoine, 1822). On pages 17–20, Surellas produced iodoform by passing a mixture of iodine vapor and steam over red-hot coals. However, later, on pages 28–29, he produced iodoform by adding potassium metal to a solution of iodine in ethanol (which also contained some water).
^Bauer, Paul (2006). Two centuries of history in Père Lachaise, Memory and Documents. p. 719.
ISBN978-2914611480.