Abstract
The authors endeavored to ascertain the nature of the carbohydrate groups in the protein molecule. It was found that by heating nucleoprotein on a water bath with a 5 per cent. solution of sulfuric acid, a product could be obtained that had the properties of a polysaccharid or of a glucosid, and which contained in its molecule a small proportion of sulfuric acid (S = 0.5 per cent.). On treating nucleoproteins with alkali, substances were obtained containing a much greater proportion of sulfuric acid (S = 3.5 per cent.; N = 8.8 per cent.). The substances thus obtained were found to possess the properties of glucothionic acids containing small quantities of nucleic acid.
Glucothionic acid has hitherto been recognized as a constituent of mucoid and amyloid. The results of this investigation place the three groups of substances in genetic relationship.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.