1911] on Physical Chsmistrij and Ike Doctrine of Tmmii,nilij. 231 



injection of serum would have produced a formation of a precipitin 

 (see below, X.) which with the serum on the surface of the blood- 

 corpuscles might have produced a precipitate, which has a great power 

 for absorbing alexins, so that thereby the insufficiency of alexin, if a 

 certain ([uantity of immune-serum was added, might be explained. 

 As a matter of fact, Gay has made a similar objection to the experi- 

 ments of Neisser and Wechsberg (see below, X.). 



As stated above Madsen and Teruchi observed the absorption of 

 streptolysin in red blood-corpuscles at low temperatures (near 0° C.) 

 without interference of hemolysis, notwithstanding that the absorbed 

 quantity was much more than sufficient to produce total hemolysis. 

 If these corpuscles, with their content of streptolysin, were heated to 

 37° C. for a quarter of an hour, they were totally hemolysed. Of 

 course the lysin exists also at the low temperature, but the velocity 

 of the reaction which causes hemolysis is extremely small at that low 

 temperature and rather great at 37° C. The compound hemolysins 

 behave in the same manner. There is still another circumstance. 

 The immune-body is absorbed in a high degree and very rapidly by 

 the blood-corpuscles. On the other hand, most alexins do not seem 

 to be absorbed in a high degree by blood-corpuscles if immune-body 

 is not present in them to combine with them. — According to experi- 

 ments by Malvoz, alexin from dog-serum forms an exception. It is 

 absorbed in a high degree by red blood-corpuscles from rabbits, for 

 if they have been treated with dog's serum and then placed in a 

 solution of the right immune-body, they become hemolysed. — Now 

 if we place sheep-corpuscles in a mixture of immune-body from 

 goat's serum and alexin (normal goat-serum), and let them remain 

 in this mixture for some time at a low temperature, no sensible 

 quantity of hemolysin is formed in the blood-corpascles because of 

 the very low velocity of reaction at that temperature (0 to .'!" C.) But 

 a great quantity of immune-body is absorbed. This is apparent 

 from the fact that the blood -corpuscles are not subject to hemo- 

 lysis if heated to 37° C. for one hour, but are hemolyzed as soon 

 as alexin is added. At 40° the experiment also succeeds, but only 

 partially, if the corpuscles are separated from the mixture within ten 

 minutes. Then a certain degree of hemolysis is observed, which is 

 increased in a high degree after addition of alexin (Ehrlich and 

 Morgenroth). Evidently the whole phenomenon depends only upon 

 the very slow reaction of hemolysin formation at low temperatures 

 and the corresponding small absorption of alexin. Ten minutes at 

 40° C. correspond to about 400 minutes at 0° C, according to the 

 general change of the velocity of reaction with temperature. The 

 conclusion of Ehrlich and Morgenroth that hemolysin, which is 

 stable at 40°, should not be so at 0°, is extremely improbable. 



