CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIA 125 



the rest of the poison. This phenomenon was 

 said to be without analogy in general chemistry, 

 and was therefore said to overthrow all calculations 

 based on the existence of an equilibrium between 

 the said reagents. 



Thephenomenon recalls an observation of BORDET. 

 We take enough lysin just to haemolyze completely 

 a certain quantity of red blood-corpuscles ; divide 

 this quantity in two equal portions and add the 

 lysin to the one part, adding the remaining part 

 of the blood -corpuscles later. Then we find that 

 the haemolysis is far from complete. This effect 

 depends evidently upon the well-known capacity 

 of the proteins in the corpuscles to bind a greater 

 quantity of poison than that just necessary for 

 complete haemolysis. The second half part of the 

 corpuscles therefore receive scarcely any lysin and 

 the haemolysis becomes incomplete. 



From general chemistry we are familiar with 

 a similar phenomenon. Monochloracetic acid may 

 be regarded as a lysin and NaOH as its antilysin. 

 If we add i cc. of i n monochloracetic acid to the 

 same volume of i n NaOH, the haemolytic effect 

 is wholly neutralized, and if we heat the solution for 

 a long time to 70 C. the mixture remains innocuous. 

 But if we add only 0-5 cc. of the acid to i cc. of 

 NaOH and keep it at 70 C. during a sufficient 

 time the NaOH at first forms the Na-salt of the 

 acid and the half part of the base is free. This 

 free base slowly transforms the Na-salt to Na- 

 glycolate and gives NaCl with the chlorine from 



