Griffith named his isolated nuclear chemicals nuclein because they came from the cell's:

1. The name records where the substance was found rather than what it does. 2. The chemicals in question would eventually be known as RNA and DNA. 3. He named these chemicals nuclein because they were isolated from the nuclei of the cells. 4. Ribosomes and mitochondria were not even identified at the time. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 14 'DNA Structure and Function', sections 14.1-14.6_