^606 
Study  of  Antiseptics. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1882. 
the  propagation  of  the  organisms  is  arrested  for  a  time  long  enough  to 
allow  the  wound  to  heal.  The  spores  by  which  some  of  the  bacteria 
are  propagated  bear  much  analogy  to  the  eggs  of  certain  animals  and 
the  seeds  of  certain  plants  which  preserve  their  vitality  under  very 
severe  conditions,  some  of  them  not  being  killed  even  by  Aveak  acids. 
The  classification  of  bacteria^  according  to  tlieir  resistance  to  the  action 
of  antiseptics,  has  been  commenced  and  carried  to  an  advanced  stage 
by  Koch ;  the  spores  of  the  splenic  fever  organism  jDreserve  tlieir 
vitality  for  many  days  in  a  1  per  cent,  aqueous  solution  of  phenol,  or 
a  5  percent,  solution  of  zinc  chloride,  but  their  development  is  arrested  ; 
tliis  suffices  for  medical  purposes,  as  although  chlorine,  etc.,  would 
effectually  destroy  them,  they  would  also  severely  injure  the  patient  to 
whose  wounds  they  might  be  applied. 
Most  antiseptics  form  permanent  insoluble  compounds  with  albumin, 
for  example,  egg  albumin  treated  wdth  a  dilute  solution  of  zinc  sul- 
phate or  chloride  forms  Lieberkiilm's  zinc  albuminate  having  the  com- 
position C72Hij2l^isS022  +  Zn02H2 :  similar  reactions  occur  with  the 
other  substances  named  by  Koch,  and  would  also  occur  when  applied 
to  wounds. 
Samples  of  blood  serum  and  egg  albumin,  diluted  with  three  or 
four  times  their  weight  of  water,  were  precipitated  with  solutions  of 
phenol,  zinc  chloride,  copper  sulphate,  corrosive  sublimate,  etc. — the 
precipitate  thrown  on  a  filter,  washed  until  the  wash-water  was  free 
from  traces  of  the  reagent,  2  or  3  grams  of  the  damp  substance  was 
then  beaten  with  water  to  a  thin  paste,  and  allowed  to  remain  at  the 
ordinary  temperature,  loosely  covered  Avith  a  bell-glass;  watch-glasses 
containing  serum  and  Koch's  nutritive  gelatin,  without  any  additions, 
served  to  control  the  experiments,  which  were  divided  into  three  series 
— in  the  first  the  substances  were  left  to  the  action  of  floating  germs 
in  the  air.  The  control  samples  were  infected  in  24  hours,  and  became 
putrid  in  2  to  4  days,  but  the  other  samples  remained  sound  from  6  up 
to  60  days  in  the  case  of  the  mercury  albuminate.  In  the  second 
series  the  samples  were  sown  with  cocci,  found  on  an  irfusion  of  coffee, 
and  the  third  witli  splenic  fever  germs ;  in  both  of  them  the  unpro- 
tected samples  showed  a  remarkable  increase  of  germs  within  the 
space  of  2  da  vs. 
The  albumin  precipitated  by  phenol  became  putrid  in  48  hours ;  the 
sample  on  being  distilled  with  water  showed  no  trace  of  phenol  on 
.adding  bromine,  the  washing  having  removed  it.    This  experiment 
