On Malignolipin. XV

Abstract

As reported previously,**) the paper-chromatographic test is useful to detect malignolipin in blood, to reveal the cancer specificity of malignolipin, and thus to diagnose cancers exactly, particularly in their early stages of development. But this test often fails to give a clear-cut result, unless it is carried out strictly and carefully. The main reason for its failure is the contamination with water of the ethanol-acetone mixture from which malignolipin is precipitated. To prevent the contamination with water, the application of some dehydrating salts was tried. Among those tested, anhydrous copper sulfate, anhydrous lead iodide, and anhydrous calcium sulfate (Drierite) were all inadequate for that purpose. As only anhydrous sodium sulfate proved to be suitable for the purpose, adequate conditions for its application were examined with Ehrlich's cancer ascites, the blood of normal or cancer-bearing mice or rats, or the blood of various patients, and the following procedure was found to be appropriate. One ml of blood (or ascites) is mixed well with 9 ml of absolute ethanol immediately after it is taken out, refluxed on a boiling water bath for 30 min (heating is omitted if the ethanol mixture has been stored for more than several days), and filtered after cooling in a refrigerator for 30 min. The filtrate is evaporated to complete dryness under low pressure (10 mm Hg) at a temperature lower than 60°C. The residue is dissolved in 2 ml of hot absolute ethanol, and filtered after cooling in a refrigerator for 15 min. To the filtrate in a graded tube anhydrous sodium sulfate is added up to the grade of 1.0 ml, is then shaken for 10 min, at room temperature, and is finally filtered through a sintered glass funnel (No. 3). The filtrate is mixed at once with 2 vols of extrapure acetone, and placed in a refrigerator for 30 min, care being taken to avoid any contamination with water.