NON-DISSOCIABLE INORGANIC RADICAL 



175 



It is evident that in many cases the equivalent conductivity 

 of a protein salt is actually less, in the salts of the alkaline earths 

 very considerably less than that of its inorganic radical alone. 

 On the supposition that the protein salt splits off the inorganic 

 radical as an ion, not only the inorganic radical but also the 

 protein must be participating in the conduction of electricity 

 through its solution, and its equivalent conductivity, when com- 

 pletely dissociated, must be greater than that of the inorganic 

 radical by the amount contributed by the protein ion. Hence 

 the assumption that the salts of the proteins split off the inorganic 

 radical as an ion must be incorrect. 



We have seen, in considering the constitution of the protein 

 molecule (Chap. I), that the protein molecule does not contain 

 a sufficient number of terminal NH 2 and COOH groups to 

 account for its high combining capacity for acids and bases, and 

 the suggestion was put forward that the true point of union with 

 acids and bases is the N.HOC group, and that union with 



