54 THE SYNTHESIS OF PROTEINS 



Under the conditions of the experiment, the potassium salt 

 is completely hydrolyzed to the free acid 



H.C.OH 



II 



N.OH 



The latter compound can readily lose oxygen to produce 

 a compound of the formula 



H.C.OH* 



II 



N.H 



which could condense with more activated formaldehyde to 

 produce a labile ring compound (III.) 



H.C.OH H.C.OH 



NH 

 (HI.) 



which by intramolecular rearrangement would give glycine 

 CH 2 NH 2 COOH. 



Evidence in support of the correctness of these views is 

 furnished by the actual production of a amino acids on expos- 

 ing aqueous solutions of formhydroxamic acid and formalde- 

 hyde to ultra-violet light, whereby the earlier claims made by 

 Baudisch f to have obtained substances of this nature are con- 

 firmed. 



In addition, the authors claim to have produced alkaloids. 

 The formation of these substances is explained by assuming 

 formhydroxamic acid to condense with three or four molecules 

 of activated formaldehyde to produce compounds (IV.) and (V.). 



H.C.OH 



/\ 



H.C.OH H.C.OH HCOH HCOH 



iOH HC.OH HCOH HCOH 



\/ 



(IV.) (V.) 



* This compound is a hydrate of hydrocyanic acid which is of significance 

 with regard to the formation of cyanogenetic glucosides. 

 f Baudisch: " Zeit, angew, Chem.," 1913, 26, 612, 



HC( 



