Pybogallol 2 Substances Taking the Place of Oxidase

2. SUBSTANCES TAKING THE PLACE OF OXIDASE, PYBOGALLOL, AND 1402.

Oxidase.

Any plant extract containing strong oxidases, such as occur in turnips, sweet potatoes, horseradish, etc., or any blood con taining hemoglobin, will give light with pyrogallol and H202. Apple juice, which oxidizes tannin, gives no light. Extracts of many inver tebrates were tried (including insects, molluscs, annelids, crustaceans, and echinoderms), but only those of Chiton, a tubicolous annelid (Lao nome japonica), and some polychtetes have thus far been found to give light. The extract must be concentrated and the light-production is probably due to hemoglobin, as it is obtained in many cases after the extract is boiled. The substances in Chiton seem to come from red filaments near the mouth (muscles ?). Contrary to my earlier experi ments, which were performed with too-dilute extracts, I find that the blood of a squid (Sepia esculenta) (containing hemocyanin) and the orange blood of the Japanese lobster (Panulirus japonica), will also give light, and the light is somewhat brighter if the blood has previously been boiled. The extracts of luminous animals never gave light with Among these, bacteria, an annelid (Cheetopterus), a squid (Watasenia scintillans), a crustacean (Cypridina), a protozoan (Noctiluca), a pennatulid (Cavernularia), and the firefly have been tried.

Inorganic substances which give light may be divided into three classes: (1) insoluble precipitates, (2) colloidal metals, (3) solutions of various salts. must always be added. The first two classes probably act as true inorganic catalyzers.

Among the substances of class (1) may be mentioned

mixtures of and H2Mn03, and All give light. I have observed no light with boneblack, Zn2Fe(CN)6, Cu2Fe(CN)e, HgO, Cu(OH)2, Cu20, CuO, FeO, iron filings, Hg2C12, Cr203, Pt black, and silica.

Among the group (2), a silver sol protected by protein so as to be fairly concentrated gave a good light. Concentrated Pt sol and Au sol also gave light. Colloidal and copper oxide gave nega tive results.

The following salts gave the best light in the concentrations indi cated: m/10 to m/20 m/100 m/50 (the light appears only after a long time), m/100 m/100 CrOs, m/10 The following gave no light: (m/10 to m/320), (m/10), K3Fe(CN)6 (m/10 to m/1000) (m/10), (2 per cent), (m/10), and bromine water. The mechanism of the action of these diverse substances will be considered in a subse quent paper.

Peroxide.—Only will give light with pyrogallol and an oxidase. benzoyl hydrogen peroxide, quinone, or ozonized turpen tine do not, although they give a strong guaiac reaction with the per oxidase of turnip-juice. We must also add to potato-juice, which already contains an organic peroxide whose oxygen may be transferred to guaiac. It is no doubt in too small a concentration to give light with pyrogallol.

Oxidizable substance.—Many of the amino- and hydroxy-phenols are rapidly oxidized by potato-juice but pyrogallol was the only one which gave light. The following were tried and all gave colored oxidation products: phenol, tricresol, pyrocatechin, resorcin, hydro chinon, orcinol, a-napthol, ortol, anilin, o and p toluidin, a-napthylamin, guaiacol, para-phenylen diamine, amidol, and pyramidon. Phloro glucin, B-napthol, and B-napthylamin were not oxidized.

Among the glucosides, vanillin, amygdalin, phloridizin, salicin, sapo nin, and esculin gave no light with potato-juice, either at 20° or 60° C.