502 
Nitrite  of  Amyl. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 1 
Oct.,  1878. 
be  open  to  question.  The  objection  of  Hunge,  quoted  in  the  u  Year- 
Book  of  Pharmacy,"  1871,  225,  that  by  this  process  a  black  non-vola- 
tile substance  and  a  number  of  other  impurities  are  formed,  is  unfounded. 
After  passing  the  gas  through  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  the  liquid 
is  agitated  with  water,  decanted  therefrom  and  shaken  up  with  sodic 
carbonate.  The  nitrite  is  now  rectified,  the  portion  passing  over 
between  900  and  ioo°  being  retained.  The  amylic  nitrite  thus 
obtained  has  a  spec.  grav.  of  '877.  By  repeated  rectification,  how- 
ever, I  have  never  been  able  to  get  more  than  95  per  cent,  of  distillate. 
This  arises  partly  from  loss  in  the  distillation,  but  chiefly  from  decom- 
position which  then  occurs,  there  invariably  remaining  a  residue  boiling 
above  ioo°.  The  fact  that  decomposition  does  take  place  is  proved 
by  observing  that  while  the  liquid  before  distilling  is  quite  neutral  to 
test-paper,  the  distillate  is  strongly  acid. 
The  results  of  one  experiment  are  here  given  : 
6o"o  cc.  gave  52*5  cc.  =  87*5  per  cent.,  boiling  at  900 — ioo° 
52-5              49-5        ==  94-2 
49-0              46-5        =  94-8 
465              44-0       =  94-6 
Considering  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  it  will  readilv  be  allowed 
that  the  fixing  of  a  standard  of  purity  for  nitrite  of  amyl  is,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  a  matter  of  difficulty  and  that  it  must  be 
to  a  certain  extent  arbitrary.  The  British  Pharmacopoeia  describes  the 
liquid  in  question  as  boiling  at  205°F.  or  96°C  I  can  only  say  that 
no  sample  we  have  ever  examined,  whether  purchased  or  prepared  by 
ourselves,  boiled  constantly  at  that  or  at  any  other  temperature,  nor 
have  I  any  reason  to  believe  that  such  a  perfect  preparation  has  been 
produced.  It  is  not,  of  course,  for  me  to  decide  what  tests  medicinal 
amyl  nitrite  ought  to  answer  ;  but  I  think  it  will  be  generally  agreed 
that  such  products  as  those  marked  C  and  E  are  not  altogether  credit- 
able to  the  profession  of  pharmacy. 
Mr.  Umney  expressed  his  regret  that  nitrite  of  amyl  was  not  to  be 
found  in  a  purer  state  now  than  it  was  seven  years  ago,  when  he  went 
over  precisely  the  same  ground  as  that  covered  by  the  present  paper. 
The  physiological  action  of  the  nitrites  of  methyl,  ethyl  and  amyl  had 
been  thoroughly  worked  out  by  Dr.  Richardson.  He  believed  that  the 
sine  qua  non  in  the  manufacture  of  pure  nitrite  of  amyl  was  a  definite 
body,  amylic  alcohol,  to  start  with,  not  ordinary  fusel  oil. 
