The Preparation of Specific Bacterial Carbohydrate Substances by Electrolysis

Abstract

The effect of electric current on bacterial and yeast cells has been extensively studied by numerous investigators. Friedenthal1 in 1896 made a rather comprehensive review of the earlier works. Later, the same subject was fully studied by Zeit2 and Kraus.3 More recently Tracy4 made a study on the lethal effect of alternating current on yeast cells. It is generally believed that the bactericidal action is due to the toxic products of electrolysis and the heat generated in the solution. While these workers were interested in the bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects, it appears that little attention has been paid to the phenomenon of lysis which occurs when a saline suspension of bacterial and yeast cells has been subjected to the passage of a strong direct electric current for a suitable length of time. In the present study we have centered our interests on the phenomonon of such lysis which has led us to the finding of the specific bacterial carbohydrate substances from the electrolysed bacterial and yeast cell suspensions. The aim of this report is to present our observations made on dissolution of bacterial and yeast cells with an account of the procedure by which the specific bacterial carbohydrate substances from a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Friedlande^s bacillus) and Monilia tropicalis were obtained by electrolysis. A comparative study was also made on the serological and a few chemical properties of the specific carbohydrate substances obtained by electrolysis and those obtained by the well-known alkaline-extraction method.