Nitroglycerin First Introduced By Ascanio Sobrero

First introduced by Ascanio Sobrero, an Italian chemist, in 1847, nitroglycerin initially attracted scientific interest for its explosive properties.* Now famous for the prize that bears his name, Alfred Nobel extended Sobrero’s work, utilizing nitroglycerin in the development of the powerful explosive dynamite. Coincidentally, Nobel, who suffered from angina pectoris (AP) later in his life, was prescribed nitroglycerin to alleviate his symptoms: “…isn’t it the irony of fate that I have been prescribed NG1 [nitroglycerin] to be taken internally! They call it Trinitrin, so as not to scare the chemist and the public” (Ringertz, 1998). But in spite of its ultimate success as a pain-reliever, nitroglycerin, with origins in the explosives industry,

Sobrero himself confessed, “When I think of all the victims killed during nitroglycerin explosions which in all probability will continue to occur in the future, I am almost ashamed to admit to be its discoverer” (Nobel Foundation,

1998). Later, as nitroglycerin became part of mainstream history, popular culture began to play on the nexus of medicine and militancy that this drug represents with attempts to pull humor from it, as the famous animated character in Figure 2 demonstrates.

In the years that Nobel spent developing the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, medical scientists were exploring the use of the chemical in the treatment of chest pain. Dissatisfied with available treatments for AP at the time, which included brandy, ether, chloroform, and bloodletting, Thomas Lauder Brunton, a leading figure in the development of pharmacology, drew from observations about the effects of inhaled amyl nitrite and successfully tested the compound in patients with AP, prompting him to experiment with nitroglycerin as a possible alternative with longer-lasting effects (Marsh, 2000, p.315). Aware of the “provings” of German homeopath, Constantin Hering, that led to manufacture of nitroglycerin as the