The History of Nicotine

1809:     Vauquelin, a French scientist, was the first person who observed nicotine. He noticed a volatile and alkali active product in the tobacco juice.

1828:     Isolation and purification of nicotine by Poselt and Reimann from Heildelberg's university. They gave its name to nicotine in honor of Jean Nicot, one of the first persons who imported tobacco in France from  “Occidental India”, in 1560.

1843:     Melsens established the empiric formula of nicotine: C₁₀H₁₄N₂.

1847:     Schloesing determined its molecular weight: 162,23 g.mol^-1.

1895:     Adolf Pinner elucidated the structure of nicotine and obtained the developed structure that is known today.

50's:       First studies of the metabolism of nicotine.

1981:    First enantioselective synthesis of natural (S)-nicotine^[1].

2000:    Enantioselective synthesis of (R)-nicotine.