WOOL AS AN INDICATOR OP NEUROPHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY 



69 



a part in the production of model psychoses by drugs, (b) affinity (sorption) of 

 a drug for protein is only one of the factors considered up to now in this report. 



The affinity for wool of Ergobasine(D-lysergic acid l-propanol-amide-(2) and 

 of Methylergobasine (D-lysergic acid(+)butanolamide-(2)) was also measured 

 and found to be PtJl.3 mMoles X 10~ 2 gm. wool. Conclusion: Among the D-ly- 

 sergic acid derivatives LAE, LSD, Ergobasine and Methylergobasine, it is LSD, 

 the biologically most potent compound, which displays the highest affinity for 

 wool . 



Finally let me digress in the direction of a very general speculation on biolog- 

 ical activity. It might be that different levels of affinity for (wool) protein corre- 

 spond to apparently different biological activities (as viewed by different spe- 

 cialists in biology). It seems that derivatives of a compound displaying high 

 affinity for (e.g. wool) protein, exert various biological activities according to 

 the degree of specificity they display toward the available receptors, some of 

 them apparently containing a protein component structurally related to wool. 



High affinity for wool of basic compounds seems to be associated with very 

 potent biological activity. This activity is evidenced by the small dose of com- 

 pounds required to exert their activity ; e.g. the affinity of the biologically highly- 

 active chlorpromazin (Largactil) for wool is high, i.e. 5.3 mMoles X 10~ 2 per 

 gm. wool. The low affinity of Atabrine for wool (0.9 mMoles X 10~ 2 per gm.) on 

 the other hand may explain why it has to be administered in high dosage and 

 for a prolonged period. 



H & Co 



N 



/ 



C9H5 



H5C2 C2H6 



\ / 



N 



CH, 

 CH, 

 CH 2 



N 



(CH 2 ) ; 



PLC— CH 



NH 



H 3 C-0— 



N 



-CI 



Chlorpromazine (Largactil) 

 Mol. weight : 318.5 



Atabrine (Mepacrine) 

 Mol. weight : 435.9 



(1) Affinity to wool of a compound is influenced by certain structural as 

 well as environmental factors. Some of the structural factors are: the size and 

 the molecular weight of the compound; of course, it is also of impor- 



