Abstract
BY heating guanine in an autoclave with acid, about 20 per cent of the purine is converted to a base of the composition C4H7N5, from analysis of the two salts C4H7N5.H2SO4 and C4H7N5.2HCl. By oxidation with bromine, guanidine picrate has been obtained from the base, and by oxidation with potassium permanganate a yield of approximately 47 per cent of guanidine has been obtained by colorimetric estimation. After boiling with barium hydroxide, the resulting acidified solution yielded a blue colour when made alkaline, or when treated with a small amount of potassium permanganate; it gave a deep red nitroprusside test in alkaline solution; after treatment with nitrous acid solution gave a deep brown colour when mixed with a solution of -naphthol in sodium hydroxide: all of which tests are probably given by 4- (or 5-) aminoglyoxaline1. This acidified solution when allowed to stand in contact with air also yields a marked ninhydrin test, which is highly probably traceable to glycine, since this amino acid was found amongst the autoclaved guanine products.
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References
Fargher and Pyman, J. Chem. Soc., 115, 217 (1919).
Fargher, J. Chem. Soc., 117, 668 (1920).
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HUNTER, G. A New Cleavage Product of Guanine. Nature 137, 405 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137405b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137405b0
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