8o 



Scientific Proceedings (52). 



The spectrophotometric data are conclusively against Manchot's 

 views. Manchot reached the conclusion that undiluted blood 

 contains about 33 per cent, hemoglobin uncombined with oxygen, 

 while at 10-fold dilution the amount of uncombined hemoglobin 

 approaches zero. From the spectrophotometric data it follows that 

 x (or ioox, the percentage of uncombined hemoglobin) is prac- 

 tically independent of dilution at constant oxygen pressure. 



Of the four views mentioned in the beginning, this leaves the 

 choice between the mass action formula for a monomolecular 

 chemical reaction and the adsorption formula. Our experimental 

 results furnish little aid in this choice, except the fact that the 

 limit value of oxygen (or CO) absorption is 1 mol. gas for each 

 mol. hemoglobin. This would indicate, of course, a mono- 

 molecular reaction. A very strong argument against the adsorp- 

 tion theory is the fact that combination of hemoglobin with 

 oxygen is accompanied by a sharp change in the spectrum, which 

 as far as I know can only be interpreted as constitutive molecular 

 change. Not having any data of my own suitable for a test of 

 the adsorption formula, I have taken the data of Bohr, Hiifner, 

 and Loewy. In no case is m log c + log k a straight line function 

 of log x. Even from Loewy's numerical data it is impossible to 

 find support for the adsorption theory — it will be recalled that 

 Wo. Ostwald bases his claim for the adsorption of oxygen by 

 blood chiefly on a curve of Loewy's. The formula x = kc n is 

 only of limited application to adsorption phenomena. On trying 

 the more general formula of Arrhenius on the same data one finds 

 that k is not constant. So on the whole it may be said that there 

 is no evidence to support the view that oxygen is adsorbed by 

 hemoglobin. It is possible that adsorption may play a role in 

 the taking up of oxygen by intact red corpuscles, but there too 

 the chief phenomenon is more probably the chemical combination 

 of oxygen with hemoglobin. 



This leaves finally the first and oldest view of reaction between 

 oxygen and hemoglobin as the only one of the four which is at 

 the same time tenable and compatible with the results here 

 presented. These results are entirely in accord with formula (1), 

 b being practically constant in each series (or varying slightly 

 with the solubility of the gas in solutions of different total hemo- 

 globin concentration). We would have then, 



