Isatropylcocaine. 
Am.  Jour.  Phauxi. 
Jan.,  1889. 
water  and  also  appeared  to  contain  acid  tartrate  of  potassium,  it  seems 
not  improbable  that  the  crystallized  salt  is  subject  to  spontaneous  de- 
composition. This  supposition  is  strengthened  by  the  observation 
that  each  of  these  same  specimens  yielded,  when  mixed  with  cold 
water,  more  or  less  of  an  insoluble  residue  consisting  of  antimony  ox- 
ide. Experiments  are  now  being  made  with  pure  tartar  emetic  to 
test  the  correctness  of  this  suggestion. 
5.     THE  PREPARATION  OF  A  STABLE  SALT  FOR  USE  IN  MEDICINE. 
It  would  be  a  distinct  advantage  if  it  were  required  that  the  anhy- 
drous salt  should  alone  be  used  in  medicine.  It  is,  as  we  have  shown, 
easily  prepared  pure,  and  when  once  prepared  it  is  not,  as  the  hydrous 
crystals  are,  liable  to  spontaneous  change,  and  in  addition  it  is  more 
readily  soluble  in  water.  To  prepare  the  anhydrous  salt  a  strong 
aqueous  solution  of  tartar  emetic  is  precipitated  by  a  large  excess  of 
methylated  spirit,  the  precipitate  is  decanted  or  filtered,  washed  with 
methylated  spirit,  and  quickly  dried  over  a  water-bath.  The  specific 
rotation  of  aqueous  solutions  of  this  salt  has  been  mentioned  in  a  pre- 
vious part  of  this  paper.  The  solubility  in  water  was  determined  at 
15°.  It  was  found  that  one  part  of  the  salt  dissolved  in  14*53  parts 
by  weight  of  water. 
ISATROPYLCOCAINE.1 
By  C.  LlEBERMANN. 
An  alkaloid  which  the  author  names  isatropylcocaine  is  present  in 
the  mixture  of  amorphous  alkaloids  obtained  as  a  bye-product  in  the 
preparation  of  cocaine. 
Isatropyleoeaine,  C19H23N04,  is  prepared  in  the  pure  state  as  fol- 
lows :  the  yellow,  sticky,  amorphous  mixture  is  dissolved  in  hydro- 
chloric acid  and  the  filtered  solution  extracted  with  ether.  The  extract 
contains  considerable  quantities  of  benzaldehyde.  The  solution  is 
freed  from  ether  by  means  of  a  stream  of  air  and  the  base  precipitated 
fractionally  with  alkali.  It  is  then  obtained  in  the  form  of  a  white, 
chalky,  amorphous  powder,  the  quantity  of  which  is  about  70  per  cent, 
of  the  crude  material.  The  middle  fractions  are  dissolved  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  again  fractionally  precipitated  with  soda,  extracted 
with  light  petroleum  to  remove  traces  of  cocaine,  and  dried  in  a 
1  Ber.,  xxi.,  2342-2355  ;  reprinted  from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  Nov.,  p.  1210. 
