Antigen for Wassermann Test 333 



A cholesterinized extract regularly used in the Wasserman 

 test in a dilution of 1 : 70 with salt solution was employed. One 

 c.c. of this extract was measured into a small tube and one c.c. 

 of salt solution added to it. This was mixed and centrifuged, 

 after which the supernatant fluid was poured off and the sediment 

 suspended in 70 c.c. salt solution. This mixture was tested for 

 anti-complementary, hemolytic and antigenic properties side by 

 side with a suspension prepared by slowly adding 70 c.c. saline to 

 1 c.c. antigen. 



It was found that the suspension prepared from the sediment 

 which resulted from mixing equal amounts of salt solution and 

 antigen was considerably less anticomplementary as well as less 

 hsemolytic than the suspension prepared by adding salt solution 

 to antigen in the regular manner. It was further found that the 

 antigenic properties of the suspensions resulting from either of 

 the two modes of mixing with salt solution was about the same. 

 Similar experiments gave the same results. 



Clinical studies may ultimately establish that salt solution sus- 

 pensions of the lipoid sediment possess high specificity and that 

 the occasional non-specific Wassermann reaction given by chol- 

 esterinized antigens may be avoided by employing resuspended 

 antigen-salt solution sediments. 



161 (2121) 



A phyto-pharmacological study of some heart drugs. 

 By DAVID I. MACHT and DOROTHY S. LUBIN. 



[From the Pharmacological Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 

 Baltimore, Maryland.] 



A number of heart drugs or poisons belonging to the digitalis 

 group were examined in respect to their toxicity for plant proto- 

 plasm. The method used was the same as that followed by the 

 authors in a study of cocaine, alcohols, quinine alkaloids, etc. 1 



i Macht, D. L, and M. Livingston, J. Gen. Physiol, 1922, iv, 573. 



