Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
January,  1910.  J 
U.S.P.  Chemicals  and  Tests. 
27 
MANUFACTURE. OF  U.S.P.  CHEMICALS  AND  CRITICISMS 
OF  U.S.P.  TESTS  FOR  THE  SAME,* 
By  George  D.  Rosengarten. 
The  Pure  Food  and  Drugs  Act  of  1906,  which  made  the  U.S.P. 
a  legal  standard,  naturally  brought  about  a  decided  change  in  con- 
ditions surrounding  the  manufacture  of  U.S.P.  chemicals.  While 
the  manufacturers  have  always  desired  to  attain  the  highest  purity 
possible  for  their  products,  it  was  found  that  it  was  not  practicable 
in  many  instances  to  comply  with  the  U.S.P.  requirements.  This 
condition,  however,  was  largely  overcome  by  the  "  Corrections  and 
Additions  "  to  the  Pharmacopoeia  during  1907  and  it  is  eminently 
proper  to  state  here  that  the  Committee  of  Revision  gave  every 
consideration  to  the  mass  of  material  that  was  put  before  them, 
and  now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  requirements  of  the  present 
Pharmacopoeia,  with  some  few  exceptions,  are  comparatively  readily 
attained,  at  least  as  far  as  chemicals  are  concerned. 
There  is,  however,  still  ample  scope  for  revision,  and  there  is  no 
question  that  the  study  of  all  the  subjects  relative  to  the  U.S.P.  and 
medicinal  chemicals  in  general,  owing  to  increased  responsibilities, 
will  be  given  greater  attention,  and  the  future  possibilities  which 
are  open  to  this  very  interesting  and  broad  field  are  of  the  greatest 
importance. 
The  purity  rubric,  which  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  inno- 
vations in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  gives  the  chemicals  whenever  it  is 
possible  a  certain  definite  standard,  and  if  in  all  instances  the  limi- 
tations of  dangerous  impurities  are  absolutely  fixed  by  well-defined 
and  sure  tests  or  analyses,  the  presence  of  small  quantities  of  innocu- 
ous substances  may  be  permitted.  Small  percentages  and  traces 
of  such  innocuous  substance,  which  were  required  to  be  eliminated 
by  former  Pharmacopoeia,  made  the  production  of  U.S.P.  chemicals 
exceedingly  arduous,  and  naturally  increased  the  cost,  which  event- 
ually had  to  be  borne  by  the  consumer.  This  can  readily  be  under- 
stood by  a  simple  case,  taking,  for  example,  sodium  phosphate,  which 
if  made  CP.  as  virtually  required  by  the  U.S.P.  1890,  commands 
a  much  higher  price  than  the  salt  of  the  U.S.P.  8th  Revision,  which 
*  Read-  before  the  Scientific  Section  of  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the 
American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  November,  1909. 
