Abstract
In the opinion of Pummerer, there is considerable doubt about the homogeneity of the fractions obtained by fractional precipitation of rubber from dilute benzene solutions, both with respect to the size of the molecules and to the state of aggregation. Based on the results of x-ray measurements of fibrous substances, to which type stretched rubber belongs, Meyer and Mark have advanced the hypothesis of the existence of chains of primary valences and of a micellar structure. PURIFICATION OF RUBBER There are four important and at the same time essentially different ways of carrying out the difficult process of purifying rubber. According to Harries, acetone extraction gives a colored product and leads to profound changes in the elastic properties. Staudinger adopted the method described by Wildmann in 1911, which involves the use of a mixture of acetone and chloroform. On the other hand, Pummerer and Koch used the method of fractional precipitation; the rubber after severe mastication was extracted with acetone, was dissolved in benzene, the liquid was allowed to stand for several weeks, the solution was decanted from the insoluble residue and was fractionally precipitated by alcohol and acetone. More recently this same method has been perfected by Pummerer and Meidel, and by this means a fraction of crystallized rubber was isolated from the mother liquors of the fractional precipitation. Finally Pummerer and Koch have purified rubber by treatment with an alkali, combining the precipitation method with the use of a solution of potassium hydroxide in methanol. Later this method was modified by Pummerer and Pahl. The use of latex in place of crude rubber is the most important development in obtaining a satisfactory product. De Vries and Beumée-Nieuwland have described in detail some results obtained with fresh latex. The total-rubber obtained by the methods just described contains, according to the quality and the age of the sample of latex, from 0.1 to 0.4 per cent of nitrogen which cannot be removed by washing, even when this is exhaustive.
Purification and properties of two extracellular β-lactamases from Bacillus cereus 569/H
