Mar. r 9t 1917 Transformation of Pseudoglobulin into Euglobulin 455 
and 0.619 g m - The averages of these are the figures recorded in Table 
II. The corresponding figures for anthrax 96 were 0.756, 0.789, and 
0.785 and 0.792. The first figure was rejected, being obviously erroneous. 
The corresponding figures for the diphtheria and tetanus serums were 
obtained February 28, 1916. The figures for euglobulin, pseudoglobulin, 
and albumin were obtained in May, 1916. 
The percentage of pseudoglobulin transformed into euglobulin by the 
heat treatment is calculated by taking the difference between the pseudo¬ 
globulin in the unheated and heated serums and dividing by the amount 
of pseudoglobulin in the unheated serum. These results are tabulated 
at the bottom of Table II. Thus, for anthrax 48 the figures are 
0 2 ^pc) 211 ' e( I ua ^ s 2 7 P er cent. However, this is not the only 
way to calculate this figure. The results for pseudoglobulin may be 
obtained by subtracting the figures for albumin from those for pseudo¬ 
globulin plus albumin. If the percentage of transformation be calcu¬ 
lated from the lower values for pseudoglobulin, the figures are 24, 8.4, 
— 1.2, 12.4, and 11.2, respectively, reading across the bottom of Table II. 
It is expected that further work on the methods of analysis will yield 
better results. 
From Table I it is apparent that the increase in euglobulin is easily 
determined when a 50-c. c. portion of serum is used. When, however, 
the filtrate is divided into several portions for the other determinations, 
the errors in analysis become proportionately large. It is furthermore 
apparent that in general the amount of pseudoglobulin transformed is 
not large, considering the long period of heating at a comparatively 
high temperature—that is, 30 minutes at 6o° C. The extremely small 
amount of the transformation in the tetanus serum leads to the infer¬ 
ence that while the transformation may take place when serums are 
heated, it does not necessarily always take place. This might not be 
noticed when handling large volumes of mixed serums. 
This work was completed several months before the recent investiga¬ 
tions of Homer 1 came to the author’s attention. Homer states (p. 291) 
that there is no conversion of pseudoglobulin into euglobulin when serum 
mixtures were heated to 61 0 or 63° C. It is probable that the failure to 
observe the transformation was due to the use of analytical technic that 
was not delicate enough and to the errors incidental to the handling of 
large amounts of serum mixtures, as in the routine preparation of anti¬ 
toxin. Better analytical results can undoubtedly be obtained when 
using small amounts ofdserum under conditions adapted to exact analysis 
and separate from antitoxin preparation. 
1 Homer, Annie. On the concentration of antitoxic sera. In Biochem. Jour., v. 10, no. 2, p. 280-307. 
1916. 
-An improved method for the concentration of antitoxic sera. In Jour. Hyg., v. 15, no. 3, p. 388- 
400. 1916. * 
