311 



On the Filtration of Crystalloids and Colloids through Gelatine : 

 ivith special reference to the behaviour of Hemolysins. 



By J. A. Craw, British Medical Association Research Scholar. 



(Communicated by Leonard Hill, M.B., F.R.S. Received December 1, 1905, — 



Read February 1, 1906.) 



The current controversy between Ehrlich (1898, 1903) and Arrhenius and 

 Madsen (1902, 1904) on the physical chemistry of the neutralisation of toxins 

 by their specific antitoxins led the author (IV, 1905) to an investigation of 

 the relations existing between the toxin for red blood corpuscles secreted by 

 B. megatherium and its specific antiserum. One of the methods adopted 

 consisted in the filtration of mixtures of megatherium hemolysin and antilysin 

 through gelatine. The lysin was found to pass into and even through the 

 gelatine, whereas the antilysin was retained, and by means of the delicate 

 blood test for free lysin it was possible to demonstrate that the two 

 substances, on mixing in any proportions, do not completely neutralise each 

 other. These observations indicated that Ehrlich's views on the toxin- 

 antitoxin reaction required considerable modification, but a closer investigation 

 showed that the hypothesis advanced by Arrhenius and Madsen agreed even 

 less with the experimental facts. On the other hand, the results were in entire 

 harmony with the views advanced by Landsteiner (1903) and Bordet (1903), 

 which have been supported by Nernst (1904) and Craw (1905) that the toxin 

 is adsorbed by the antitoxin much as a dye is by a tissue. As this conclusion 

 may considerably modify 'current ideas on the nature of the reaction and the 

 constitution of toxins in general, it seemed advisable to inquire further into 

 the physical chemistry of filtration through gelatine. 



The present communication contains data of the filtration of various 

 crystalloidal and colloidal solutions, including megatherium lysin, through 

 various percentages of gelatine, under constant and variable pressures. 



The work was partly carried out as Research Student at the Lister Institute 

 of Preventive Medicine and was completed at the London Hospital Medical 

 College by the aid of a scholarship from the British Medical Association. 



Previous Work on the Gelatine Filter. — The gelatine filter was introduced 

 by C. J. Martin (1896), and consists of a Pasteur-Chamberland candle, the 

 pores of which are filled with solid gelatine. The filter is fitted into 

 a gunmetal jacket or filter case, which serves to hold the liquid to be filtered, 

 and the upper end of the closed filter case is connected with a supply of air 

 at a pressure of 30 to 100 atmospheres, which is used to force the liquid 



VOL. LX.XVII. — B. 2 A 



