Georges-Simon Serullas

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.

Biography

He was a professor and head pharmacist at the hospital of Val-de-Grâce; professor of chemistry at the Jardin des Plantes (the chief botanical garden in France), and member of the French Academy of Sciences (elected December 28, 1829 - Chemistry section).

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.

He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery (10th division).^[2]

Tomb of Georges Simon Serullas at Père-Lachaise Cemetery

Publications

• 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.