102 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



xneister's so-called euglobulins are precipitated when the degree of 

 saturation reaches 28 to 36 per cent. ; whilst the pseudoglobulins 

 are deposited at a saturation of 36 to 44 per cent, by volume. 

 The -pseudoglobuiinS) which dissolve in water forming a clear 

 solution, correspond to the "soluble globulins" of MARCUS and 

 SENG. 



PiCK 1 was able to prove that neither the fibrinoglobulin, nor those pro- 

 teids which were precipitated on the further addition of a saturated solution 

 of ammonium sulphate (up to 36 per cent. ), possessed any antitoxic capacity 

 when separated from the antidiphtheric serum of a horse. 



Only that portion which is precipitated at a greater degree of 

 saturation (from 38 per cent, upwards) contains antitoxine. 



The aqueous solution of this substance gave only a slight turbidity when 

 treated with a saturated solution of ammonium sulphate to the extent of 

 36 per cent., whereas at 38 per cent, there was a dense deposit containing 

 a third to a fourth of the total quantity of antitoxine ; at 42 per cent, 

 the precipitate contained as much as five-sixths ; and at 46 per cent, the 

 whole amount of antitoxine. The filtrate, which now contained only 

 serum albumin, had absolutely no protective power. 



Hence, in the case of the immune serum of the horse, the 

 antitoxine is combined with the pseudoylobulin. On the other 

 hand, in the immune serum of the goat, it is combined with the 

 euglobulin, as is also the case with goats' milk in which the pro- 

 tective substances are precipitated when the degree of saturation 

 with ammonium sulphate reaches 27 to 30 per cent. 



We may again point out here that the euglobvlins are insoluble in water, 

 and are therefore precipitated on dialysis ; this explains the great losses 

 experienced by WASSERMANN and BRIEGER and COHN in their attempts to 

 concentrate the antitoxine in goats' milk by precipitation with ammonium 

 sulphate and subsequent dialysis. 



TETANUS TOXINE. 



The specific spasm-producing poison formed in cultivations by 

 Nicolaier's tetanus bacilli is not the only toxine of these micro- 

 organisms. They produce, in addition to tetanus poison in the 

 narrower sense, also another true toxine, tetanolysine, which has 

 a solvent action on the blood-corpuscles, and with which we 

 will deal presently, and possibly also other poisons not of the 

 nature of toxines. Here our interest centres chiefly about the 

 characteristic convulsion-producing poison, tetanospasmine. It is 

 unquestionably a true toxine with haptophore and toxophore 



1 Pick, "Z. Kenntnis d. Immunkbrper, " Hofm. Beitr. z. chem. Phys., 

 i. , 1902 (reprint). 



