Abstract
It was shown by preliminary experiments with hemolytic agents which were active in reducing surface tension that in very low concentration the time of hemolysis was greatly prolonged. The work here reported has been done to determine if a surface concentration of these substances on red blood cells could be demonstrated when the surface concentration was insufficient to cause hemolysis.
Having determined what concentration of castor oil soap and saponin in 0.9 per cent. NaCl would not hemolyze erythrocytes in a number of hours, red blood cells were placed in solutions of the determined concentration and allowed to stand for varying lengths of time. These cells were then removed and resuspended in 0.9 per cent. NaCl and time-fragility tests performed. We have found that the adsorption of castor oil soap on the surface of red blood cells in concentration insufficient to cause hemolysis greatly increases the time of hemolysis in a time-fragility test. When saponin is adsorbed by erythrocytes in a non-hemolytic concentration the time of hemolysis by hypotonic saline solutions is decreased. This increased and decreased fragility demonstrates the presence of the hemolytic agent definitely in connection with the red blood cell surface, and bears further evidence that hemolysis by agents of this type is an adsorption phenomenon. The difference of castor oil soap and saponin in producing a decrease and increase in fragility would seem to indicate that there is a difference of mechanism of hemolysis even in those hemolytic agents acting by surface adsorption. We have found a great difference of susceptibility to the action of soap and saponin in the case of human, sheep and bovine erythrocytes, and a similar variation is also observed in our time-f ragility tests.
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