STERILIZATION AND DISINFECTION IN THE PHARMACY. 195 



sealed containers at a temperature of 60 C., one hour each day for six days. 

 Concentrated alkaloidal solutions may be similarly sterilized. It is not 

 advised to employ a higher temperature for these substances inasmuch as 

 the decomposition changes, if any, which may take place at 100 C. are 

 not clearly understood. To be on the safe side, the lower temperature 

 (60 C.) should be employed. 



In the case of solutions or emulsions for hypodermic use, prepared with 

 oil, the oil is first to be treated with alcohol (95 per cent.) to remove the oleic 

 acid. Oily solutions of calomel, yellow oxide of mercury, lecithin, and of 

 camphor are to be prepared with sterile materials, then placed in a boiling- 

 water-bath for ten minutes or in an air-bath at 100 C. An interesting 

 requirement is exacted by the Italian Pharmacopeia as regards the glass- 

 of the containers for hypodermic injections: Ten to twelve ampuls or 

 five or six bottles are filled with a clear solution of i per cent, mercuric 

 chloride, then sealed. They are then left in an autoclave at 112 C. for 

 half an hour, at the expiration of which time no brownish turbidity should 

 be perceptible. 



Some of the points pertaining to the sterilization of alkaloidal, glucosidal 

 and other substances which are quite readily decomposed or altered by 

 light and heat, will be treated under ampuls. 



2. Preparation of Ampuls. 



Ampuls (Lat. ampulla ;Fr. ampoule; a flask) are small glass containers 

 filled with medicinal substances usually in solution. These have come into 

 great prominence within recent years, due to the methods of sterilization 

 now required and practised in well regulated pharmacies. Ampuls are 

 really nothing more than very small flasks, the size being suited to single 

 doses of the medicine, as a rule. They were introduced into France about 

 thirty years ago by Limousin and have now come into general use in France, 

 Italy, Spain, Holland and England. It is only recently that they have 

 come into use in the United States. C. A. Mayo was among the first Amer- 

 ican writers to publish the first more complete information regarding their 

 origin, manufacture and use. (See Proc. A. Ph. A., vol. 57, 1909.) They 

 are generally adopted by the navies and armies of all civilized countries, 

 because of the advantage which they offer for the preservation, storage and 

 transportation of all manner of medicines, particularly those which require 

 sterilization and which are generally wanted for immediate administration. 

 From the standpoint of the physician they are wonderfully convenient and 

 are great time savers. 



Ampuls may have any desired capacity, from i c.c. up to 100 c.c., and 

 more, but the more usual capacities are i c.c., 2 c.c., 5 c.c., and 10 c.c. They 

 are made of alkali-free glass, white or colored (amber) . Those supplied by 



