Abstract
The effect of Ultra-violet radiation on the potency of Mercurochrome Solution was studied on B. coli. The method used was as follows: 2 cc. of Mercurochrome Solution 1:500 was inoculated with one standard loopful of a twenty-four hour culture of B. coli. At the end of the exposure time, 0.1 cc. of the drug-and-organism mixture was removed by means of a sterile pipette and transferred to 5 cc. of sterile broth. Inasmuch as controls showed that in this transfer enough drug was carried over to prevent the growth, a second transfer of 1 cc. was made to 9 cc. of sterile broth. A control of this latter method of dilution showed that prompt and heavy growth of bacteria was obtained with these dilutions in the absence of the drug, while the amount of drug present in the second transfer tube was not sufficient to visibly inhibit the growth of the organisms. The times of exposure which were studied were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes.
The irradiation of Mercurochrome Solution was performed in the following ways: Solution of Mercurochrome were radiated with the Hanovia Alpine Sun Lamp at a distance of 30 centimeters. Other samples of the same solution were radiated with a water cooled Krohmayer Lamp (Hanovia Company) at a distance of 5 centimeters from the mercury arc. The solutions were exposed to the Ultra-violet rays in three different containers, namely, 1. Quartz Test Tube; 2. Pyrex Test Tube; 3. Ordinary Soft Glass Test Tube. The rays emitted by the Krohmayer Lamp ranged as low as 2000 Angstrom units, while those emitted by the Alpine Sun Lamp at close range extended a little farther, namely, to 1850 Angstrom units.
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