SYNTHETICAL RESEAECHES ON ACIDS OF THE LACTIC SERIES. 343 



rcN'" rco: 



IcN'"' Ico: 



Ho 



'Ho* 



Cyanogen, Oxatyl. 



The researches of these chemists prove that the introduction of cyanogen into an 

 organic compound, and its subsequent transformation into oxatyl, converts that compound 

 into an acid, or, if aheady an acid, increases its basicity by unity for each atom of oxatyl 

 so developed, this result being apparently quite independent of the position of the oxatyl 

 in the molecule. 



The atom of oxatyl, as the above molecular formula shows, may be regarded as methyl 

 (C H3) in which two atoms of hydrogen have been replaced by one of oxygen, and the 

 third by hydroxyl (Ho). The individualizing of this group confers upon the formulae of 

 most of the great families of organic compounds a simplicity hitherto unattainable 

 without ignoring their atomic constitution. The passage from one organic family to 

 another thus becomes a mere substitution of the hydroxyl contained in oxatyl by other 

 radicals, either simple or compound. When, for instance, it is replaced by the peroxide 

 of a metal, the acid of which the oxatyl is a constituent becomes converted into a salt ; 

 thus 



Sodic acetate \ ^ 



ICO" 



Nao 



H3 



Baric acetate . . . . . Bao". 



rco 

 CH3 



C O Nao 



fCH 



ICO 



{ 



Sodic succinate . . . C, H 



2-^-^4 



CO Nao 



CO 

 Baric succinate . . . C, H. Bao". 



^ ^CO 

 With the hydroxyl replaced by methoxyl, ethoxyl, &c., an ethereal salt is produced, as 



Ethylic acetate \ ^ . 



^ ICOEto 



Ethylic succinate C9H. 



^ ^ ^COEto 



rCHHo(COEto) 



Ethylic citrate jCH(COEto) . 



[cH2(COEto) 



When the hydroxyl is replaced by hydrogen, an aldehyde or an aldehydoid acid is the 

 result. Thus, 



CH3 



Aldehyde • ■ ' • Iqq 



H 

 3a2 



