44 THE THEORY OF IONS 



the influence which produces these architectural 

 changes ? Is it a chemical action resulting from 

 the splitting of molecules into ions ? We have been 

 informed that substances consisting of a high pro- 

 portion of polymerised molecules cannot readily 

 form ions, and that other substances with large di- 

 electric constants but small polymerisation are 

 unsuitably constituted for ionisation in the ordinary 

 way.* Nevertheless, as all constructive processes 

 depend upon the formation of molecules or atoms of 

 matter in an active condition (ions being matter in 

 an active form), the fragments of protein which are 

 split up must remain in an active condition, other- 

 wise reconstruction would not take place. Highly 

 polymerised molecules are split up by ferments or 

 enzymes, which sometimes take part in their recon- 

 struction. It is thus that emulsin and myrosin act 

 in the formation of prussic acid and volatile oil of 

 mustard. Emulsin splits the glucoside amygdalin 

 into ions or other fragments, which reunite to form 

 the essential oil of almonds, free prussic acid, formic 

 acid and glucose. All cellular substances are 

 believed to contain such enzymes ; by their aid 

 serum-proteins are split into amino-acids, and 

 active ions such as CO, OH, H, NH 2 and others 

 link them together and form new complexes in 

 which the enzyme itself very likely forms a central 

 figure. All the amino-acids contain one or more 

 asymmetrical atoms of carbon, and nearly all such 

 acids have been manufactured in the laboratory. 

 The same kinds of amino-acids are present in nearly 

 all animal and vegetable proteins, but as their 

 * Abegg : loc. cit. 



