CHEMISTRY — ABEL. 1 33 



CHEMISTRY. 



Abel, John J., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 

 Grant No. 203. Services of an assistant to C07itinue the iyivestiga- 

 tion of the chemical composition of the secretioyi of the supra-renal 

 glafid. (For previous reports see Year Book No. 2, p. xxviii, 

 and Year Book No. 3, p. 103.) $1,000. 



Report. — Dr. Abel and Mr. R. de M. Taveau have continued their 

 investigations on the composition and chemical constitution of epi- 

 nephrin hydrate (adrenalin, suprarennin). The analytical results 

 obtained speak rather for the correctness of the formula CioH^NO, 

 ^^H^O than for that of C^Hj^NOs. The researches of a number of 

 other investigators have induced them to accept the latter formula 

 as more closely representing the elementary composition of adrenalin. 

 It is, however, pointed out by Messrs. Abel and Taveau in a paper 

 now in press (Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. i, No. i) that 

 there are no means of purifying this substance except by methods open 

 to criticism; that great difficulty is experienced in preparing stable 

 and crystalline derivatives, and that great importance attaches to the 

 preparation of specimens with a low nitrogen content, inasmuch as 

 such are least likely to be contaminated with products of a high 

 nitrogen content such as are known to exist in the supra-renal glands. 

 The substance as prepared by Messrs. Abel and Taveau contains less 

 nitrogen than was found by others, and inasmuch as their analytical 

 findings agree with the empirical formula CmHuNOs^^HjO, they have 

 accepted this as truly representing the elementary composition of 

 the substance. The half molecule of water (^H^O) of this empir- 

 ical formula is shown to be water of constitution, and the molecular 

 weight of the substance must therefore be represented by at least 

 2(CioHi3N03^2H.,0). The molecular weight determinations which 

 have appeared to support the mono-molecular formula have been 

 critically examined by the writers and shown to lack the confirm- 

 atory value that has been attached. to them. 



When epinephrin hydrate is treated with boiling water in a current 

 of pure hydrogen considerable quantities of ammonia and methylamine 

 are liberated. When the base, C^H^N,©, obtained from both epi- 

 nephrin and its hydrate, is treated with a fixed alkali, it also yields 

 ammonia and methylamine, and in addition methylhydrazine. The 

 presence of the last-named substance among the degradation products 

 of the base, CjH^N^O, compels these investigators to believe that the 

 two nitrogen atoms of this base are directly linked, the one to the 



