256 LYSATININE OR LYSATINE. [BOOK II. 



needles, and which had the composition, C 6 H 14 N 2 . H 2 PtCl 6 + C 2 H 5 . OH. 

 The mother liquid contains the platinochloride of lysatinine, to be after- 

 wards described. From this salt the platinum can be separated by sul- 

 phuretted hydrogen, and a crystalline hydrochlorate obtained. By boiling 

 the latter with freshly precipitated Pb(OH) 2 , the base is set free ; it has 

 not however been obtained in a crystalline condition. 



Another method of separating lysine, by taking advantage of the 

 formation of a very sparingly soluble silver compound will be described 

 under lysatinine. 



Constitution Lysin, C 6 H 14 N 2 O 2 , has the composition of a diamido- 



and compounds caproic acid and is a homologue of diamido-valerianic 

 of lysine. acid, which, as has already been stated (p. 244), is pre- 



sumably identical with Jaffe's ornithin. Lysine forms two compounds 

 with HC1, having respectively the composition C 6 H 14 N 2 2 . HC1 and 

 C 6 H 14 N 2 3 . 2HCK 



It is optically active (dextrogyrous) but when heated to 150 

 with baryta water, although it is not decomposed, it yields an opti- 

 cally inactive isomer, the platinochloride of which crystallises with- 

 out either water or alcohol of crystallisation and has the formula 

 C 6 H 14 N 2 2 . H 2 PtCl 6 (Siegfried) 2 . * 



2. Lysatinine, C a H u N 8 O (or Lysatine C 6 H 13 N 3 O 2 ?). 



In describing the methods of separating lysine we have stated 

 that one of these consisted in the formation of the platinochloride 

 of the base, which could be obtained in the form of beautiful needle- 

 shaped crystals. In the mother liquors from which lysine platino- 

 chloride was separated, Drechsel discovered a second base, to which 

 he gave the name of lysatine or lysatinine. 



The interest which this base possesses in relation to the formation 

 of urea in the organism is a sufficient reason for the somewhat 

 lengthened treatment of Drechsel's researches on the bases which 

 result from the decomposition of the proteid molecule. 



In describing the preparation of lysine by converting it 

 r< into a platinochloride, it was mentioned that the mother 



liquor contains the platinochloride of a second base, lysatinine. 

 In order to obtain it, this mother liquor is considerably diluted with 

 water and, by distillation in vacuo, freed from alcohol and ether. From 

 the aqueous solution which remains, the platinum is separated by means 

 of H 2 S, and the nitrate heated on the water bath, to drive off free H 01, 

 then concentrated to syrupy consistence. This syrup is diluted with water 

 and a concentrated solution of silver nitrate added, drop by drop, from a 

 burette, so as to free it exactly of chlorine. The nitrate and washings from 

 the precipitated silver chloride are then again concentrated to syrupy 

 consistence and treated with the same volume of silver nitrate solution as 

 was previously employed to precipitate the chlorine. On now adding to 



1 E. Drechsel and J. E. Kriiger, ' Zur Kenntniss des Lysins,' Ber. d. Deutsch. 

 Chem. Gesellschaft, Vol. xxv. p. 2455. 



2 M. Siegfried, ' Zur Kenntniss der Spaltungsproducte der Eiweisskorper,' op. cit. 

 The specific rotation of this body has yet to be determined (May, 1893). 



