A New Rubber Particle Count in Hevea Latex

Abstract

Abstract SO MUCH confusion has grown up in the literature concerning the number of rubber particles in Hevea latex that at the present time there exists a thousandfold error in the currently published reports (1, 3, 8) of the one original determination of this number. Harries (4), Hauser (5), and Noble (8), each reporting the original work of Henri (6), give a count of 50,000,000 particles per cubic centimeter of latex, Harries not specifying the concentration, while Hauser and Noble indicate it to have been 8.7 per cent solids. On the other hand, Dubosc and Luttringer (2), also reporting the work of Henri, record a count of 50,000,000 particles per cubic millimeter in latex of unspecified concentration. The original paper of Henri (6) reported that he had found an average of 50,000,000 particles per cubic millimeter of latex having a specific gravity of 0.973 and containing 8.7 grams of solids per 100 cc. Preliminary counts undertaken by the author with a view to developing a rapid microscopic method for the determination of the dry rubber content of latex indicated that the results of Henri were considerably low. Since the number of microscopically visible particles is a fundamental property of latex, it was felt that a redetermination of this number would be of value.