The manufacture of an improved medical compound.

  • A. Leonhardt & Co.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The manufacture of an improved medical compound. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    N° 7073 A.D. 1889 Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1889 Complete Specification Left, 22nd Jan., 1890—Accepted, 19th A or., 1'fO PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. [Communicated from abroad by Messrs. Wirth & Co., of Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the Empire of Germany, acting as Agents of A. Leonhardt A Co. of Mulbeim, near Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the Empire of Germany.] The Manufacture of an Improved Medical Compound. I, William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :— This invention relates to the manufacture of an improved medical compound. 5 Baumann has described in the Reports of the German Chemical Society 1885 page 884 “ Berichte uer Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschafta few mercaptols of most specific properties. 1 have discovered a new mercaptol which is essentially different from any at present known. 10 It is produced in the following manner : 9*6 kilogrammes of Methyl mercaptan obtained in the well known manner, are mixed with 5’8 kilogrammes of acetone and the mixture well cooled, under constant cooling gaseous hydrochloric acid is introduced when a reaction takes place, through which methylmercaptol is formed after the formula 15 (CH3 SH)2 + (CH3)2 CO = (CH3)2 C (SCH3)2 + H2 0. This methylmercaptol, forming a clear colourless oily liquid, is separated from the water formed along with it in this reaction and the surplus of acid is washed out. For a further purification the mercaptol can be distilled by means of steam, it has less specific gravitv than water and smells less strong and disagreeable. It proves to be 20 very volatile. • As a means of condensation instead of gaseous hydrochloric acid, an aqueous solution of hydrochloric or sulphuric acid can be employed, but in any case it is necessary to keep the temperature very low, to avoid loss. This methylmercaptol is transformed into the corresponding disulphonate by 25 oxydation with permanganate of potassium according to the following formula (CH3)2 C (SCH3)2 + 40 = (CH3)2 C (S02 CH3)2. This tetramethyldisulphonmethane is brought by us on the market under the name of methylsulphonal, it is soluble in water and crystallizes in large rhombic leaves. Its melting point was found to be between 119—120° Centigrade uncorrected 30 atmospheric pressure. Dated this 27th day of April 1889. HASELTINE, LAKE & Co., 45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant. [Prnv 4d.]