Antibodies are the body's protectors.
When antigens, such as bacteria or viruses, enter the body, antibodies from a previous infection or vaccine combine with them and deactivate the invaders. During the 1950s, as medical researchers came to understand this relationship, it became a priority to identify antigens. FITC has played an important role in identifying the cause of AIDS and can be used to distinguish between different strains of streptococci. It has proved infallible in tests for syphilis. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Burckhalter earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of South Carolina in 1934, an M.S. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois , Urbana, in 1938, and a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1942.