1909.] " Absoi-jHion" of Specijic Agglutinins hy Bacteria, etc. 177 



0 minutes to 92-0 after 240 miuutes ; in the case of charcoal and sulphuric 

 acid (Experiment 12, Table XV), the percentage adsorbed rose from 587 

 at the end of 0 minutes to 65'4 at the end of 240 minutes. 



Thus it is found that the time taken before equilibrium is reached varies 

 greatly, not only witli the quantity of the adsorbing matter but also witli 

 the nature of the different substances, concentrations, absolute quantities, 

 temperature, etc., and that it is not legitimate to draw from the time taken 

 for equilibrium to be reached any definite conclusion as to the nature of the 

 interaction between the absorbing substance and the substance absorbed from 

 a fluid. 



Therefore we consider it just as erroneous to conclude from the reaction 

 velocities that the taking up of agglutinin by bacteria is the same process 

 as the taking up of sulphuric acid by charcoal (Bordet's theory) as it would 

 be to conclude that the adsorption of trypsin by charcoal or agglutinin by 

 charcoal is different from the adsorption of sulphuric acid by charcoal, on 

 account of the great differences in the velocities with which these processes 

 proceed. 



Table III.*— Experiment 1. May 3, 1907. 



Temperature, 1° C. Serum, Kringelgaard horse serum, 16 per cent. 

 Bacilli, 10/1 N Bacillus coli covimunis (Kringelgaard), April 24, 1907. 

 Time taken in centrifuging, etc., 32 minutes. 



Time in minutes. 



B. 



C. 



(Z2-x)+ 0 



19 



178 -5 



10 



7-9 



189 -6 



20 



6-6 



190 -9 



30 



5 -9 



191 -6 



40 



5-7 



191 -8 



80 



5 -4 



192 -1 



T = 197 -5 



* In everv ease, the terms T, B, and C will be iised in the following sense : — 

 T = the total number of units which the given dilution of serum contained before absorption. 

 B = the number of units left free in the supernatant fluid after absorption has taken place. 

 C = T minus B, i.e. the number of units removed from the original solution by Ihe absorbing 

 matter. 



