ALKALOIDS. 393 



Experiment 61. Determine quantitatively the amount of morphine in a 

 sample of opium by using the U. S. P. method, which is as follows : Introduce 

 10 grammes of opium (which, if fresh, should be in very small pieces, and if 

 dry, in very fine powder) into a bottle having a capacity of about 300 c.c., add 

 100 c.c. of water, cork it well, and agitate it frequently during twelve hours. 

 Then pour the whole as evenly as possible upon a wetted filter having a diam- 

 eter of 12 centimeters, and, when the liquid has drained off, wash the residue 

 with water until 150 c.c. of filtrate are obtained. Then transfer the moist 

 opium back to the bottle, add 50 c.c. of water, agitate repeatedly during fifteen 

 minutes, and return the whole to the filter. Wash the residue with water until 

 the filtrate, to be collected in a second flask, measures 150 c.c. : finally, collect 

 20 c.c. more of a third filtrate. Next evaporate in a tared capsule, first, the 

 second filtrate to a small volume, then add the first filtrate, rinsing the vessel 

 with the third filtrate, and continue the evaporation until the residue weighs 

 14 grammes. Transfer this residue to a tared 100 c.c. flask and rinse the cap- 

 sule with a few drops of water at a time, until the entire solution weighs 20 

 grammes. Then add 12.2 c.c. of alcohol, shake well, add 25 c.c. of ether, and 

 shake again. Now add 3.5 c.c. of ammonia water from a pipette, stopper the 

 flask, shake it thoroughly during ten minutes, and then set it aside for at least 

 six hours. 



Place in a funnel two rapidly-acting filters, of a diameter of 7 centimeters, 

 one within the other, wet them with ether, and decant the ethereal solution 

 upon the filter. Add 10 c.c. of ether to the contents of the flask, rotate it, and 

 again decant the ethereal layer upon the filter. Repeat this operation with 

 another portion of 10 c.c. of ether. Then pour into the filter the contents of 

 the flask in such a way as to transfer the greater portion of the crystals to the 

 filter, accomplishing this finally by washing the flask with several portions of 

 water, using not more than 10 c.c. in all. Allow the filter to drain, then apply 

 water to the crystals, drop by drop, until they are practically free from mother- 

 water, and afterward wash them, drop by drop, from a pipette, with alcohol 

 previously saturated with powdered morphine. When this has passed through, 

 displace the remaining alcohol by ether, using about 10 c.c. Allow the filter to 

 dry at a temperature not exceeding 60 C. (140 F.) until its weight remains 

 constant, then transfer the crystals to a tared watch-glass and weigh them. 

 The weight found, multiplied by 10, represents the percentage of crystallized 

 morphine obtained from the specimen examined. 



The explanation of the above process is as follows : By extracting opium 

 with water a liquid is obtained containing in solution the total quantity of 

 opium alkaloids, in the form of salts, alongside of numerous other substances. 

 As it is desirable to work analytically with small volumes of liquids (in order 

 to avoid loss through solubility of the precipitate), the aqueous solutions are 

 evaporated to a small bulk. The addition of ammonia water causes the decom- 

 position of the alkaloidal salts with precipitation of morphine, while certain 

 other alkaloids, especially narcotine, remain dissolved in the ether which for 

 this purpose has been added previously. 



Morphine, Morphina, C 17 H 19 NO 3 .H 2 O = 303 (Morphia). A 

 white crystalline powder, or colorless, shining, prismatic crystals, 

 odorless, of a bitter taste, and an alkaline reaction to litmus ; almost 



