89 



12th March, 1920 



Professor Gregg Wilson, President of the Society, in the Chair 



THE USE OF COLLOIDS IN DISEASE. 



By A. B. Searle. 



An interesting lecture on " The Use of Colloids in Disease,'' 

 Avas given by Mr. A. B. Searle of Sheffield, at the Queen's Uni- 

 versity, Belfast, under the auspices of the Society. The lecture 

 was attended by a good gathering of local medical men and phar- 

 maceutical chemists, as well as by a number of other people. The 

 nature of colloids was described and illustrated by a series of 

 experiments, in which it was shown that colloidal particles are so 

 minute that they pass readily through the finest filter papers. 

 Some very interesting lantern slides were exhibited, these show- 

 ing the remarkable germicidal properties of some colloids as well 

 as of metals commonly supposed to be inert. 

 The Lecturer said medical men and chemists had long sought for 

 a series of medicines and disinfectants which were deadly in their 

 action on bacteria and other germs, but were quite free from any 

 risk of poisoning human beings. In searching for this desideration 

 very remarkable results had been obtained during the past few 

 years of the study of a state of matter which was intermediate 

 between that generally recognised as "suspended" in a fluid and 

 that in a true solution, and known as the colloidal state. Many 

 substances of widely different composition and characteristics 

 could be obtained in this state, and their properties then diftered 

 in many ways from what would be anticipated. The particles of 

 colloidal matter were so minute that in many instances they could 

 not be seen with the most powerful microscopes, but by means 

 of an instrument known as the ultra-microsope they might be 



