362 CHEMISTRY OF THE LEUGOMAINS. 



acids and in ammonia. With ammoniacal silver nitrate it gives a 

 precipitate resembling that of adenin, but is more readily soluble in 

 ammonia. This compound is quite stable, since it decomposes very 

 slowly on boiling with hydrochloric acid ; on protracted boiling with 

 water it is changed into adenin and benzoic acid. 



Mono-benzyl adenin, C^H^Nj .CHj .C5H5 , was obtained by Thoiss 

 by heating well dried adenin with benzyl chlorid to boiling (178°) 

 on an oil-bath. It can also be obtained, according to Kruger, by 

 heating adenin in a flask with benzyl chlorid in a sulphuric acid 

 bath ; also by heating adenin with alcohol, potassium hydrate, and 

 benzyl chlorid under an inverted condenser. It crystallizes from 

 alcohol in short, glistening prisms, frequently in small pointed crys- 

 tals grouped in plate-like aggregations. A ten per cent, alcoholic 

 solution gives reactions with silver nitrate, ammoniacal silver solu- 

 tion, mercuric chlorid, picric acid and platinum chlorid. Gold 

 chlorid gives no precipitate. The compound forms pure white micro- 

 scopic crystals and melts at 259°. It is easily soluble in hot 

 water and in hot alcohol ; but little in ether. Its solubility in water 

 at 15? is 1: 2250 ; in water at 100° is 1: 320. With acids it forms 

 salts from which alkalis throw down the base. The hydrochlorid 

 CjH^(CyHy)N5 .HCl, forms fine glassy needles or four-sided glassy 

 prisms with inclined end-surfaces, which are readily soluble in alco- 

 hol and in water, but not in ether. The sulphate and nitrate pos- 

 sess similar properties. The sulphate, (Q^J^O^^^^ .H^SO^ , forms 

 glassy long prisms containing five molecules of water, four of which 

 easily pass off at 100°, and the fifth at 110°. Like adenin, it yields a 

 silver compound which is insoluble in ammonia. On reduction with 

 zinc and hydrochloric acid it forms an amorphous red unstable com- 

 pound. Treated with nitrous acid, benzyl adenin is reduced to 

 benzyl hypox^nthin, thus showing that the benzyl group replaces a 

 hydrogen atom in the group CjH^N^, which Kossel has called 

 adenyl (see page 336). 



Benzyl adenin picrate, C,jHjjN5.CjHj(N03)jOH, is obtained as 

 fine felted yellow needles, which are fairly soluble in water and in 

 alcohol ; insoluble in ether. 



Like adenin, the benzyl compound is very resistant to oxidation 

 with potassium permanganate. On treatment with sulphuric acid 

 and chromic acid a part is completely oxidized and the remainder is 

 unchanged. Bromin acts energetically, forming a dark-red sticky 

 mass, which at 120° only gradually gives off a part of the bromin 

 and becomes dark -yellow in color and firmer in consistency. Appa- 

 rently four atoms of bromin unite with one molecule. 



On decomposition with concentrated hydrochloric acid at 180°— 

 200° it yields glycocoll, volatile bases, and a resinous body, C,^H,j , 

 identical with that obtained by Cannizzaro by the action of dehy- 

 drating agents on benzyl alcohol (Kriiger). 



