THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



255 



fore lactate of silver is the salt implied when 

 actol is prescribed. Actol is a white powder, 

 odorless and almost tasteless, it is soluble in 

 water and albumenous fluids 1:15, it has no irri- 

 tating effect. It has four times the antiseptic 

 strength of corrosive sublimate. An aqueous 

 solution i;r,ooo 6.&s^roy s streptocoecus. Staphy- 

 lococus, etc., in five minutes, and a solution 

 1:80,000 stops the development of fungus in 

 blood serum, does not destroy animal tissues, 

 and it prevents the development of fungus in 

 them, being non-poisonous it may be used sub- 

 cutaneously. In the endeavor to find a silver 

 salt which would be less expensive than actol, 

 eight other organic silver salts were experi- 

 mented with, when it was found that citrate of 

 silver was the only one which answers the pur- 

 pose and to this substance the author gives the 

 name itrol. A solution of itrol 1:4,000 destroys 

 all fungus, although twice the price of iodoform 

 it is much more economical in use. 



ACETANII^IL IN SURGERY. 



Jas. J. Walsh, A. M., M. D., states in a "Note 

 on the inhibitory action of acetanilid on bac- 

 terial growth" {Med. News, 1231, p. 174): "As 

 a germicide in ordinary cultures of pathogenic 

 or non-pathogenic microorganisms, acetanilid 

 seems to be absolutely without etfect, and that 

 it is ineflBcacious for the ordinary purposes of a 

 dusting powder. In some way, however, where 

 it is present, it has a very valuable inhibitory 

 action on the growth of all ordinary micro- 

 organisms." Dr. Morton (Philadelphia Poly- 

 clinic) says he has "employed acetanilid 

 locally in a large number of surgical affections, 

 with results so surprising in some respects as to 

 make it difficult to restrain enthusiasm in com- 

 menting upon the antiseptic properties of the 

 drug." 



DIAPHTHERINE AND OUINOSOL- 



Diaphtherine is a compound of one molecule 

 of ortho-phenolsulphonic acid and two mole- 

 cules of orthohydroxyquinoline. It is a yel- 

 lowish crystalline body, readily soluble in 

 water and melting at 82°. Its aqueous solution 

 gives a blue coloration with ferric chloride. 

 According to Vulpius, quinosol is potassium 

 oxyquinoline sulphate. The two bodies are 

 easily distinguished by heating on platinum 

 foil; the former burns completely, the latter 

 leaves a residue containing potassium. An 

 aqueous solution of quinosol is colored green 

 by ferric chloride, and gives precipitates with 

 HgClz and lime water. The value of a sample 



may be estimated as follows: i grm. is placed 

 in a graduated tube and water added to 10 c. c ; 

 I grm. of sodium acetate in 15 c. c. of water is 

 now added, and the mixture shaken out with 

 15 c. c. of ether; the volume of the ethereal 

 layer is now increased to 20 c. c. and one-half 

 of it removed and evaporated; the residue 

 should consist of oxyquinoline, melting at 70°, 

 and should weigh not less than 0.25 grm., cor 

 responding to about one-half the oxyquinoline 

 in the sample taken. 



CYANOGEN FROM AMMONIA. 



E. Bergman states that Bueb found that only 

 a small quantity of hydrocyanic acid was pro- 

 duced by the action of ammonia upon charcoal 

 at 800° C, about 4 per cent, of the nitrogen of 

 the ammonia being converted into cyanogen 

 At 1,000° C. he found that 24 per cent, of the 

 nitrogen became combined as cyanogen. On 

 passing a mixture of ammonia and coal gas 

 over charcoal heated to between i,i5o°-i,i8o°, 

 60 per cent, of the nitrogen was recovered as 

 cyanogen, 20 per cent, remained as undecom- 

 posed ammonia, and 20 per cent, was liberated 

 as free nitrogen. The author has continued 

 Bueb's investigations, and has examined into: 

 (i) The influence of coal-gas upon ammonia in 

 the presence of red-hot charcoal; (2) the in- 

 fluence of carbonic oxide, producer gas, etc. ; 

 (3) the influence of temperature upon the yield 

 of cyanogen. 



(i) Five experiments were made by passing 

 coal-gas and ammonia over heated charcoal. 

 Hydrocyanic acid, and not ammonium cyanide, 

 was produced. 



{2) When the coal-gas was carburretted with 

 pentane, and cyanogen formation increased as 

 the amount of pentane decreased. The author 

 explains this by ascribing it to the dilution of 

 the ammonia by the products of decomposition 

 of the pentane. 



(3) When carbonic oxide, producer gas, and 

 mixtures of hydrogen and nitrogen were used 

 instead of coal-gas, the formation of cyanogen 

 proceeded in the same way as with coal-gas, 

 except that more of the ammonia was decom- 

 posed. 



Experiments with ammonia and carbonic 

 oxide without charcoal gave only minute quan- 

 tities of cyanogen. The most favorable tem- 

 perature for the formation of cyanogen was 

 found to lie between 1,000° and 1,100°. — Ab- 

 stract Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind. 



