The testing of diphtheria toxin and antitoxin by intracutaneous injection into guinea-pigs : preliminary note / by A.T. Glenny and K. Allen.

  • Glenny, A. T.
Date:
[1921?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The testing of diphtheria toxin and antitoxin by intracutaneous injection into guinea-pigs : preliminary note / by A.T. Glenny and K. Allen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    1/4
    Reprinted from The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology, Vol. XXIV., 1921 (Jfo THE TESTING OF DIPHTHERIA TOXIN AND ANTITOXIN BY INTRACUTANEOUS IN¬ JECTION INTO GUINEA-PIGS.1 Preliminary Note. By A, T. Glenny and K. Allen. From the Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories, Herne Hill, I/ondon, S.E. The intracutaneous method of Bonier (x) has been adopted by ns at the Wellcome Physiological Besearch Laboratories for all preliminary determinations of the antitoxic value of diphtheria sera. Our experience during the last eighteen months has shown that this method is of great practical value and that it deserves wider recognition. The general method of procedure is as follows:— A white guinea-pig is chosen, or one with one white hank. The hair is clipped off as closely as possible and the clipped area covered thickly with isulphuretted lime paste. Lime paste is made by grinding lime in a mortar, (adding water gradually until a thin paste is formed (about 3 c.c. of water to each gram of lime). Sulphuretted hydrogen is then bubbled through for about Itwenty-four hours. Application of the lime paste for about five minutes is generally sufficient to remove all hair. All trace of the paste is then washed off (with warm water and the guinea-pig dried with a towel. The skin should then he perfectly bald and white. If the paste is left on too long the skin becomes red and raw in patches, making the subsequent reading of reactions very difficult. For injections it is preferable to ansesthetise with A.C.E. to prevent movement. The number of injections that can be made depends on the area of skin available. The dilutions of toxin and antitoxin are so arranged that the amounts under test are contained in 0'2 c.c. The injections should be about an inch apart and not too near the ventral surface. Injections are made intracutaneously as near the surface as possible, using a small needle with the short bevel uppermost. If the needle is inserted too deeply the injection becomes subcutaneous and unsequently dispersed and not local. A true intracutaneous injection is dis¬ tinguished by a sharply defined white raised lump. A small fraction of diphtheria toxin produces a well-defined red ,rea about 15 mm. in diameter at the end of thirty-six hours. With a ^reat excess of toxin the reaction may be much greater. Leadings may »e taken at the end of twenty-four hours, but the reactions are not so lharpiy defined as at the end of thirty-six hours. After the third day lie colour fades, leaving a slightly discoloured bare patch easily dis- 1 Beceived July 5, 1920,