624 
The  Organo-metallic  Bodies. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I     Sept.,  1921. 
plosive  substance  containing  mercury  and  carbon,  but  many  others 
attempted  without  success  to  confirm  their  result.  Later,  K.  A. 
Hofmann  obtained  a  series  termed  the  "mercarbides"  containing  the 
Hg 
/ 
-C-Hg 
\ 
Hg 
Some  notion  of  the  complexity  possible  in  these  substances  is 
shown  in  the  formula  of  ethane  hexamercarbide 
O    -    Hg  Hg  O 
II  II 
Hg  -    C      -  C-Hg 
II  II 
HO  —    Hg  Hg  —  OH 
A  different  arrangement  results  when  sodium  amalgam  is  used 
with  the  organic  bromide  and  iodides.  Both  bonds  of  the  diad  mer- 
cury are  attached  to  the  carbon.  These  reactions,  however,  so  far 
have  been  obtained  only  in  the  presence  of  an  ester  such  as  methyl  or 
ethyl  acetate,  which  acts  as  a  catalyst,  inasmuch  as  it  can  be  recov- 
ered unchanged  at  the  end  of  the  reaction. 
Out  of  the  immense  mass  of  compounds  of  these  types  a  limited 
number — about  two  score — are  already  in  the  market  under  copy- 
righted titles  and  recommended  for  medicinal  purposes.  Some  of 
them  contain  both  mercury  and  arsenic.  How  many  of  them  will 
stand  the  test  of  scientific  experience  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  all 
therapeutic  history  goes  to  show  that  ingenious  advertising  is  often 
the  main  cause  of  the  popularity  of  a  synthetic  drug.  However,  the 
scientific  features  of  the  organo-metallic  compounds  will  always  have 
a  fascination  for  the  chemist. 
