Abstract
It has previously been shown that sodium ricinoleate possesses the property of detoxifying bacterial toxins. 1 , 2 In the present study an attempt has been made to show the effect of the concentration of both the toxin and the soap upon the efficiency of the detoxification.
One L+ diphtheritic toxin contained in a volume of 0.4 cc. was added to 1.0 cc. samples of a series of soap solutions ranging in concentration from 1 per cent to 9 per cent. After 15 minutes standing, these mixtures were injected into guinea pigs. The results of this experiment are given below:
In this experiment concentrations below 5 per cent did not protect, whereas concentrations of soap of 5 per cent or above did protect. This experiment has been repeated and confirmed. Studies were made in the following experiment to show the effect of changing the concentration of both the toxin and the soap. In these experiments the effect of aging was also studied. To do this a series of samples was prepared, each sample containing an L+ dose for each 1 cc. of 4 per cent soap solution added. One of these was injected without diluting; to the other varying amounts of water were added. One series of guinea pigs was injected after the mixture had stood 15 minutes. Another series was injected after the mixtures had remained in the ice box for 24 hours. The results of the experiment are given in the tables below. The concentrations of soap and toxin given are the actual concentrations of the final mixture. A sufficient volume was injected in each case to represent one L+ dose of toxin. This experiment has been confirmed several times.
This experiment has been confirmed several times.
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