Yoshio Kato: In Memoriam

Dr. Yoshio Kato, a noted researcher in chromatography, has passed away. Kato was a quiet personality who presented scientific findings in simple, understandable words, and he was a good friend. He passed away at the end of August 2015, at the age of 70.

Kato graduated from Nagoya University and worked all of his business life for Tosoh Corporation, where he was the pioneer in protein chromatography. The silica-based, large pore, hydrophilic TSKgel G3000SW column that he developed at end of the 1970s was the first to separate plasma proteins analytically in high resolution. That column is listed in both US and EU pharmacopeias as the reference in plasma protein analysis. He also helped develop, a highly crosslinked polymethacrylate resin for analytical purpose, called PW. For industrial applications, to separate proteins in large scale, they were performed on the polymethacrylate resin Toyopearl, which he codeveloped 1979. During the last decade of his professional life, he was involved in the development of various affinity materials. He retired in 2005.

Kato was always very knowledgeable and pleasant company during scientific meetings and marketing events that he liked to attend all over the world. In particular, he enjoyed eating big, medium fried steaks when traveling in the United States.

After retirement he started a company and worked as a consultant in the field of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), but reserved enough time for golfing with buddies and traveling with his wife.

For many people in the scientific community, especially in protein separation, he was a good comrade and we will miss him very much. Many friends and companions-including Peter Foeldi, formerly with LKB; Juergen Friedle, formerly with E. Merck and Tosoh Bioscience GmbH; Egbert Müller of Tosoh Bioscience GmbH; and Koji Nakamura formerly with Tosoh corporation-would like to say good-bye. Many more good friends and scientific colleagues could also be listed; we will not forget him.