458 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1451 



160° with stirring and kept at 160° for 1 hour 

 gives on dissolving in water and acidifying the 

 cooled solution (in iee) thioindoxyl-carboxylic 

 aeid. "Warming the acidified solution or heating 

 the solid with acetic anhydride gives thioindosyl 

 distillable with steam. In alkaline solution 

 thioindoxyl-canbosylic aeid and thioindoxyl are 

 converted by potassium ferricyanide to thioindigo, 

 the former on heating the latter directly. The 

 motive for the work is, in the present case, bio- 

 thenical. 

 Division of Chemistry of Mkdicinal Products 



Edgar B. Carter, chairman 



E. H. Volwiler, secretary 



symposium DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN SYN- 

 THETIC MEDICINALS 



The American-made " chlor amine" antiseptics: 

 P. N. Leech. 



Progress in the manufacture of arsphenamine : 

 G. W. Eaiziss. 



Present status of the field of local anesthetics: 



E. H. VOLTVILER 



Eeccnt developments in the chemistry of organic 

 mercurials: Frank C. Whitmore. 



New medicinal 'mercurials: Oliver Kamm. 



Chemical and pharmacological studies of ienzyl 

 compounds: David I. Macht. 



A synthesis of thymol from p. cymene. II: 

 Max Phillips. A process for making synthetic 

 thymol from p. cymene is described. The method 

 consists in first preparing nitrocymene, reducing 

 this to cymidine, sulfonating the eymidine to 

 cymidiue-sulfonie acid, diazotizing the cymidine- 

 sulfonie acid to diazo-eymene-sulfonic acid, re- 

 ducing the latter to cymylhydrazine p. sulfonic 

 acid, removing the hydrazine group cymene-S- 

 sulfonie acid, fusion of the sodium salt of this 

 acid with potassium hydroxide and obtaining 

 thymol. An over-all yield of about 15 per cent, 

 of the theoretical one is obtained. 



A method for assaying unguentum stramonii: 

 A. K. Bliss, Jr. The U. S. P. IX gives no 

 method for standardizing unguentum stramonii. 

 Bliss and Brown present a method adapted from 

 the U. S. P. assays of extraotum stramonii, ex- 

 tractum belladonnse foliorum, and fluidextraetum 

 beUadonnsB radicis, which gives very accurate re- 

 sults as shown bj^ experiment data reported. The 

 method consists of the usual treatment with ether- 

 chloroform mixture and ammonia water; followed 

 by thorough shaking and subsequent standing or 

 by centrif uging ; extraction with weak sulfuric 

 acid; subsequent addition of ammonia water with 

 final extraction with chloroform, and titration of 

 the chloroformic residue in the usual fashion. 



Some hypnotics of the iarhituric acid series: 

 H. A. Shonle and A. Moment. Of the various 

 di-alkyl and altyl-aryl barbituric acids prepared 

 and tested, isoamyl-ethyl barbituric acid was 

 found to have the greatest hypnotic activity com- 

 bined with a low toxicity. Isobutyl- ethyl and 

 n-butyl-ethyl barbituric acids were next in activ- 

 ity. Benzyl-ethyl and benzyl-propyl barbituric 

 acids, while possessing hypnotic activity, caused 

 tetanic convulsions. Increasing the length of the 

 chain of both alkyl groups tends to cause mus- 

 cular incoordination. It appears possible that the 

 optimum activity lies in those .members of the 

 series which are more oil soluble and also chem- 

 ically less stable. The usual method of synthesis 

 was used in the preparation of this group of 

 compounds. 



Germicidal assays with special reference to col- 

 loidal silver compounds: Herbert C. Ham- 

 ilton. Tests of germicides other than the 

 coal tar compounds should be carried out 

 under conditions similar to those under which the 

 substance would be used, particularly time of 

 reaction and organism. The values so obtained 

 have more practical significance than the official 

 hygienic laboratory coefficients. Colloids appear 

 to vary in value more greatly than some other 

 disinfectants, making it difficult to obtain a true 

 valuation. Tests were made -with some common 

 disinfectants on a variety of organisms including 

 those isolated from a typical case of ' ' pink eye, ' ' 

 also B. pyocyaneou^, diphtheria, pneumonia and 

 others. The substances tested include colloidal 

 silver iodide, colloidal metallic silver, silver 

 nitrate and other well-known disinfectants. Con- 

 siderable data are included. 



Tlie chemistry of digitalis: Herbert C. Ham- 

 ilton. This is a continuation report on tie active 

 agents of digitalis with some additional data on 

 their purification and activity. 



Hypnotics of the nirvanol series — phenyl hutyl 

 hydantoiii: E. H. VoLVsriLEB and E. B. Vliet. 

 Nirvanol, or phenyl-ethyl hydantoin, was at first 

 acclaimed as the hypnotic par excellence, but in 

 recent years it has been found to occasional!}' 

 produce severe rash and fever. A number of 

 other substituted hydantoins have already been 

 prepared and investigated, but none of them ap- 

 peared promising. The various analogous mem- 

 bers of the hydantoin series and of the barbituric 

 acid series seem to have no particular relationship 

 from the hypnotic side, for example, the dialkyl 

 hydantoins have practically no hypnotic action. 

 Phenyl n-butyl hj'dantoin was prepared and found 

 to have no hypnotic action whatsoever. 



