PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES bg 



servations that the bacteriophage does not destroy the active prin- 

 ciples present in the bacterial cells nor does it liberate them from 

 bacteria which do not ordinarily contain them. 



In another group of experiments of Gratia and Linz (1932c) 

 agar slants were inoculated with B. coll and Vibrio cholerae both 

 capable of producing the active principles, and also with staphylo- 

 coccus and B. diplitJieriae, both incapable of producing the ac- 

 tive principles. After twenty-foin- hours of incubation the cultures 

 were emulsihed in distilled Avater and washed three times by 

 centrifugalization. The ^vashed sediments were inoctilated with 

 streptothrix and the dissolved cidtines filtered three days later. 

 Mycolysis of the inactive bacteria (staphylococcus and B. diph- 

 theriae) did not liberate the active principles, whilst the mycol- 

 ysis of the B. coli did not destroy their activity. The active prin- 

 ciples of I'ibrio clwlerae seemed, ho^\e\er, to l^e destroyed by 

 mycolysis. 



In my own experiments anti-erysipelas bacteriophage described 

 by me in 1927 \\as mixed ^vith ctilttnes of Streptococcus Jiemolyti- 

 cus erysipelatis, and incubated for t\venty-foin" hours. Completely 

 lysed ctilttnes were filtered through Berkefeld "V" candles and 

 used in doses of 0.5 c.c. for preparatory injections and 3 c.c. per 

 kilo of body weight, for intravenous injections. No reactions were 

 obtained. 



Uyeda (1934) washed the gro^vth of agar cultures of Vibrio 

 cholerae twice in 0.5 per cent saline solution and emulsified the 

 residue either in saline or distilled water. The emulsions were 

 incubated for ten days and filtered through Berkefeld "V" can- 

 dles. Autolysates thus prepared failed to induce a state of reactiv- 

 ity to the phenomenon follo^ving the intravenous injection of 

 potent culture filtrates of the same strain of Vibrio cholerae. The 

 endotoxin of Vibrio cJwlerae prepared by him according to the 

 method of Besredka, contained potent skin-preparatory factors. 

 No comparative quantitative studies were made on the "agar wash- 

 ings" filtrates and the endotoxin prepared from the residue by the 

 method of Besredka. 



In Plant's (1932) experiments, sediments of Spi rochet a pallida 

 cultures washed with saline, autolyzed at 37° c. and dialyzed for 

 forty-eight hours against running water were totally inactive. As 

 will be mentioned subsequently, filtrates of whole young cultures 

 dialyzed as above, contained active principles. 



According to Boquet (1935) , washed sediments derived from 



