Investigation of glycocoll and some of its products of decomposition / by Eben N. Horsford ; extracted from the American journal of science and arts, vols. III & IV, second series, 1847.

  • Eben Norton Horsford
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Investigation of glycocoll and some of its products of decomposition / by Eben N. Horsford ; extracted from the American journal of science and arts, vols. III & IV, second series, 1847. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    13/48
    The ammonia is taken from the hydrated glycocoll, which may be considered as fumarate of ammonia: C4H4NO„HO=H4NO,04HO,: 9th. It decomposes when subjected to the action of the gal- vanic battery; an acid (fumaric?) and oxygen appearing at one pole, and an alkali (ammonia) and hydrogen appearing at the other. 10th. It may be derived from hippuric acid by treatment with a mineral acid, in which case a neutral salt of glycocoll is formed and benzoic acid set free : or by treatment with potash, in which case benzoate of potash is formed and glycocoll is set free. Hippuric acid, - - C13H9N06 Benzoic acid, - - - C,4H5 03 Glycocoll, - - - C4 H4N03 We may add also that the formula? of Boussingault and Mul- der have not the advantage of so great simplicity. Preparation of Glycocoll. The recent brilliant discovery of Dessaigne* that by boiling hippuric acid with sulphuric, hydrochloric or any of the stronger acids, this body separates into benzoic acid and a salt of glycocoll, rendered the preparation of the latter, in purity, a task of no dif- ficulty. It was, of course, necessary first of all to obtain a quan- tity of hippuric acid. This acid was prepared according to the method proposed by Dr. Bensch,f by evaporating in a water bath, the morning urine of stall-fed horses, to from one-eighth to one-tenth of its vol- ume ; adding hydrochloric acid till all effervescence ceased; set- ting aside, in a cool place, for the perfect separation of the hip- puric acid; filtering through linen, and pressing; dissolving in freshly prepared solution of hydrate of lime, with addition of boiling water; filtering, as before, and pressing; heating the fil- trate to boiling, acidifying with solution of alum, cooling to 40° C. [104° P.], adding solution of bicarbonate of soda till no farther precipitation takes place ; filtering and pressing ; and precipitation of the filtrate with hydrochloric acid. After washing, filtering and pressing the precipitate of hippuric acid, it was again dissolved in boiling water, and blood coal added in the proportion of half an ounce to a pound of moist acid, again filtered at boiling heat through paper, and set aside to crystallize. By this method pris- matic crystals are obtained of the most perfect whiteness, an inch in length, and from one to two lines in diameter. * Compt. Rend., xxi, p. 1224-1227. Liebig's Annalen, Bd., lviii, S. 322. t Liebig's Annalen, Bd., lviii, S. 267.