THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JUNE,  1888. 
NOTES  ON  SOME  NEW  REMEDIES. 
I 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
Chloralcyanhydrin  or  Chloralhydrocyanide  was  obtained  in  1872 
by  Hagemann,  and  by  Pinner  and  Bischoff,  by  treating  chloral  with 
anhydrous  hydrocyanic  acid  at  an  elevated  temperature.  A  ready  method 
for  preparing  this  compound  was  given  by  Pinner  (Beriehte,  1884  p. 
1997)  and  consists  in  dissolving  chloralhydrate  in  a  10  or  12  per 
cent,  solution  of  hydrocyanic  acid,  obtained  from  potassium  ferrocy- 
anide  equal  in  weight  to  that  of  the  chloralhydrate ;  the  solution  is 
set  aside  for  24  hours,  then  for  several  hours  digested  using  a  reversed 
condenser  and  finally  evaporated  on  the  water  bath.  It  crystallizes 
from  water  or  carbon  disulphide  in  thin  white  rhombic  plates,  melts 
at  61  °C.,  boils  with  some  decomposition  between  215°  and  220°,  has 
an  odor  recalling  that  of  hydrocyanic  acid  and  chloral,  and  is  readily 
soluble  in  water,  alcohol  and  ether.  Its  composition  is  represented  by 
the  formulas  C3H2CI3NO  or  CCI3.  CH  (OH).  CN,  and  it  is  the  nitrile  of 
trichlorolactic  acid,  this  acid  being  generated  by  strong  hydrochloric 
acid.  The  solution  in  distilled  water  remains  unchanged  for  some 
length  of  time,  and  does  not  produce  a  precipitate  with  silver  nitrate, 
except  after  heating  when  AgCy  is  deposited.  Alkalies  decompose 
the  compound,  yielding  chloroform,  hydrocyanic  acid  and  formic  acid. 
The  compound  has  been  recommended  as  a  substitute  for  hydrocyanic 
acid,  of  which  it  yields  15.5  per  cent.  ;  or  6.452  parts  of  chloralcy- 
anhydrin correspond  to  1  part  HCy.  1.29  gm.  chloralcyanhydrin  dis- 
solved in  9  gm.  distilled  water  furnishes  a  solution  corresponding  in 
strength  to  the  officinal  2  per  cent,  hydrocyanic  acid ;  and  a  solution 
of  0.645  gm.  in  100  gm.  of  water  corresponds  in  strength  to  a  bitter 
almond  water  with  iV  per  cent.  HCy.  (See  also  Amer.  Jour.  Phar., 
1888,  p.  13.) 
