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50 Kansas Academy of Science. 



THE CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR THE DETECTION 



OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES AND MEDICINAL 



CHEMICALS. 



By L. E. Sayre, University of Kansas, Lawrence. 



THE new (1900) United States Pharmacopoeia, which has just 

 been published and officially issued, contains a number of or- 

 ganic compounds which have found their way into medicine and 

 are considered of importance among remedial agents. Among these 

 new agents we find: 



Acetone, phenacetin, camphoric acid, trichloracetic acid, ethyl 

 chloride, antipyrine, urethan, benzaldehyde, saccharine, bromoform, 

 chloral formamide, cinaldehyde, cresol, guaiacol, guaiacol carbonate, 

 hexamethylenamine, iodol, salol, safrol, sulfonal, thymol iodide, 

 vanillin, etc. 



As it is the province of the pharmacopoeia to give approximate 

 tests for identification of the agents made official and to supply 

 methods for the detection of the impurities that may be found in 

 them, it is interesting to note some of these tests. 



For this purpose we have selected a few of these organic remedial 

 agents and the tests employed for detection of impurities — those 

 tests that chemists have considered sufficiently reliable to be placed 

 in the hands of any one trained in chemistry. We selected from 

 the list the following organic chemicals and their accompanying 

 tests: 



Salol, or Phenyl Salicylate, C6H4(0H)C00C6H5 1:2. 



This substance is apt to contain, as a result of the process of its 

 manufacture, some uncombined phenol, or a minute quantity of 

 salicylic acid. The test for these impurities is as follows : 



If 1 gm. of phenyl salicylate be shaken with 50 c.c. of water, the 

 liquid filtered, and 5 drops of ferric chloride t.s.* previously diluted 

 with 20 volumes of water be added, the filtrate should show either 

 no color or at most a trace ( limit of uncombined phenol or salic- 

 ylic acid ). 



Antipyrine, C3HN2O ( CH3 ) 2 . CeHo. 



Is liable to be contaminated or adulterated with acetanilid and 

 acetphenetidin. The tests which apply to these possible admixtures 

 are as follows : 



Two c.c. of an aqueous solution of antipyrine (1 in 100) mixed 



* t. s. = test solution. 



