Gldttenden and Hart — E last In and the Elastose Sadies. 21 



The tissue on being freed from water was hard, tough, and difficult 

 to powder. It was finally ground to a coarse powder and then re- 

 extracted with warm ether, until the ether on evaporation left no 

 appreciable residue. This took some time, for, as previously pointed 

 out by Horbaczewski, there apparently remains in the tissue a small 

 amount of fat-like matter, which dissolves very slowly in ether and 

 which can be completely extracted only by first grinding the purified 

 tissue as fine as possible. The elastin prepared in this manner we 

 have termed for convenience Elastin A. 



A portion of the preparation dried at 110° C. gave on analysis the 

 results contained in the accompanying table. The methods of 

 analysis were the same as those previously described in former 

 articles on the proteoses.* By fusion with potassium hydroxide and 

 potassium nitrate, according to the method recommended by Ham- 

 marsten,f no sulphur could be found. Elastic tissue, however, 

 unquestionably contains sulphur, but whether it exists there as a 

 constituent part of the elastin molecule, or loosely united as in kera- 

 tin, or as a constituent of some adhering j^roteid or other substance, 

 it is difiicult to say. Certainly, the boiling of elastic tissue with 1 

 per cent, potassium hydroxide for several hours might reasonably be 

 expected to remove a part at least of any sulphur which might be 

 present, and if by this process sulphur is removed from the tissue 

 might it not as probably come from the elastin, as from any other 

 proteid substance? Treatment with acid, of the alkaline solution 

 obtained in the preparation of A, plainly showed the presence of 

 hydrogen sulphide and we therefore decided in the preparation of the 

 second portion of elastin to omit the treatment with alkali. Accord- 

 ingly, 1700 grams of carefully cleaned neck bands from oxen were 

 treated in the same manner as in A, except that the alkali was 

 omitted, and in its place, treatment of the tissue with both acetic and 

 hydrochloric acid was repeated twice. In subjecting elastin to the 

 action of 5 per cent, hydrochloric acid care must be taken, before 

 boiling the washed tissue with water, to see that every trace of acid 

 is removed, otherwise the faintly acid water formed will at 100° C. 

 give rise to a partial decomposition of the elastin. 



After thorough extraction of the powdered elastin with ether, a 

 portion dried at 110° C. gave by analysis the results shown in the 

 following table, Elastin B. 



* See Zeitschrift fiir Biologie, Band xx, p. 11, and Amer. Chem. Jour., vol. vl, p. 3. 

 f Zeitschrift fiir physiologische Chemie, Band ix, p. 298. 



