Am'MTa°>"ri9i9arm  ^       Preparation  of  Arsphenamine.  299 
The  mixed  ethereal  layers  are  washed  with  a  small  quantity  of 
saturated  solution  of  sodium  bisulphite  to  remove  any  unchanged 
benzaldehyde.  Separate  the  ether,  and  filter.  The  ^filtrate,  which 
consists  of  a  solution  of  benzyl  alcohol  and  ether  is  evaporated  (the 
ether  may  be  recovered  by  distilling).  The  residual  oil  is  almost 
entirely  benzyl  alcohol,  and  is  fractionated  by  distillation.  At  first 
a  little  ether  may  be  obtained;  this  is  rejected,  the  greater  part  passes 
over  between  204-2070  C,  and  consists  of  pure  benzyl  alcohol. 
Although  usually  stated  in  text  books  to  be  only  very  slightly 
soluble  in  water,  it  is  dissolved  to  the  extent  of  4  per  cent.  The 
boiling  point  of  benzyl  alcohol  is  2060  C,  therefore  much  higher 
than  water.  It  is  not  decomposed  at  the  temperature  of  boiling 
water,  hence  it  may  be  sterilized  at  that  temperature. 
The  Medical  Journal  of  Australia,  August  3,  1918,  reports  that 
"this  new  anaesthetic  has  been  tested  in  the  surgical  clinic  of  Pro- 
fessor W.  Halstead  and  elsewhere.  A  report  of  fifty  cases  dealing 
with  the  incision  of  abscesses,  the  excision  of  toe  nails,  the  extrac- 
tion of  bullet  from  the  hand  .  .  .  has  demonstrated  the  efficiency  of 
1  per  cent,  aqueous  solution  as  an  anaesthetic.'' 
THE  PREPARATIOX  OF  ARSPHENAMINE 
(SALVARSAX).1 
By  Philip  Adolph  Kober. 
I.  Introduction. — The  synthesis  of  an  arsphenamine  or  sal- 
varsan  suitable  for  therapeutic  purposes,  in  spite  of  the  work  of 
Ehrlich  and  Bertheim2  and  their  collaborators,  is  still  a  vital  prob- 
lem. It  is  fairly  well  known  that  the  toxicity  of  arsphenamine 
varies  and  that  batches  made  by  individual  manufacturers  vary  more 
than  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  differences  in  their  procedures. 
Furthermore,  since  it  seems  fairly  well  proven  that  even  Ehrlich's 
own  manufacturers  are.  unable  to  maintain  a  uniformly  high  stand- 
ard,8 it  is  evident  that  there  are  some  factors  which  are  not  under- 
stood or  not  under  control.    I  am  informed  by  manufacturers  of 
1  Read  in  part  before  the  Society  of  Experimental  Biology  and  Medicine, 
New  York  City,  November  20,  1918.  Reprinted  from  The  Journal  of  the 
American  Chemical  Society,  March,  1919. 
2  Ber.,  45,  756,  1912. 
3  Roth,  Hygienic  Laboratory  Bulletin  113,  7,  1918. 
