120 



MARTIN G. LARRABEE AND PAUL HOROWICZ 



neurokeratin has not got the constitution one thought it had, just as I am not 

 disturbed about the fact that the chemical configuration of some compounds 

 does not explain how the specific pharmacological activity of those compounds 

 is brought about. The main concern of my model experiments is that in many 

 instances there is a relation between the affinity of a substance to wool and its 

 biological activity. Of course, a model is always only a model and is able to 

 give answers only to a restricted amount of questions. 



Dr. Morales asked me which type of bonds are involved in the binding to 

 wool of some compounds. I would like to say that the bond responsible for the 

 affinity is likely to be mainly the hydrogen bond. 



Let me illustrate another point. According to the Figure: 



Z 



M 

 111 



_l 



O .6|— 



X 

 Zj 



o 

 0.4 



> 



ffl .3 



a 

 ui 



CD 



01 2. 



W 



a 



< 



_i 

 o 

 </> 



2 o 



< 



at 



WOOL AFFINITY 



I 



1 



1 



1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 



TIME OF DEGRADATION OF WOOL, HRS. 



prolonged alkaline degradation of wool increases the affinity of a cationic com- 

 pound, e.g. that of the quaternary ammonium disinfectant Bradosol for wool. 



Absolute affinity in millimoles 

 of Bradosol per one gm. of 

 wool 



Affinity of Bradosol for Wool Which Has Been Degraded with 0.15 N 



Na 2 C0 3 for 



min. 



0.135 



15 min. 



0.381 



30 min. 



0.400 



45 min. 



0.420 



2 hours 



0.460 



3 hours 



0.470 



4 hours 



0.530 



However, alkali degraded wools, when treated, e.g., with diluted acetic acid, 

 can be converted again into wools behaving practically like intact wool, i.e., 



