SOME NEW KEYS TO COSMETIC CHEMISTRY•1956 243 appeared to be attached directly to the protein through its SH groups. m When 1,2,5,6,-dibenzanthracene-9,10-C 1• was applied to mouse skin, at least part of the phenanthrene-dicarboxylic acid formed was bound to the protein of the skin through the diamide or the monoamide of the acid. •48 Azo compounds with a carboxyl group rigidly held 12 to 14 angstroms from a dimethylamino group were bound to human serum albumin by both these groups, the dimethyl amino group binding to a tyrosine hydroxyl and the carboxyl binding to a nearby cationic site on. the albumin when the terminal groups of the dye were less than 10 or more than 14 angstroms apart, only one bond could be formed, usually by the dye carboxyl. TM The free energy of binding of crystal violet by bovine serum albumin was calculated to be 8.1 kcal for the first dye molecule. •5ø The heat of formation of a peptide tt bond was calculated as-1.5 kcal. •5• ANTIBODIES AND ALLERGY New studies have at least begun to penetrate the thick maze of immuno- logy and allergy. Kinetic studies indicated that one or more carboxyl groups are involved in the antigert-antibody bond, 1•2 and the same conclusion was supported by the demonstration that acetylation of anti-bovine serum albumin antibody destroyed nearly all of its activity. 1•" In six different antigert-antibody systems evidence was obtained that free amino groups are critically involved in antibody action •'4 ih one system the behaviour pointed to a group with p K of about 9-8, close to that of the epsilon-NH 2 of lysine. 1•, In inflammation, which is a manifestation of severe cellular injury, the exudative liquid contains a factor called,leucotaxine, which appeared to be a polypeptide to which an unknown prosthetic group may be attached leucotaxine raises capillary permeability and attracts potymorphonuclear leucocytes. 1'6 Cortisone and similar compounds were found not to inhibit the production. of substances which propagate inflammation, but to inhibit tissue reactivity to such substances. TM Tracer studies showed that entire molecules of protein. antigert (not just the haptens) penetrate into the cells and concentrate in the cytoplasmic granules.l*• In eczematous sensitisation, the sensitising agent is believed to form a conjugate with a protein of the body, probably of the epidermis, which causes an alteration in e.nzymes of cells of the lymphoreticular system, so that when the sensitising agent again is encountered an eczematous reaction develops. 1•9 PIGMENTATION Synthesis of melanin in tissue cultures of chick embryo skin appeared to be inhibited by addition of phenylalanine the inhibition was reversed by addition of tyrosine to the cult•ure medium. TM Compounds such as

244 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS , 8-methoxypsoralen continued to receive study as means of restoring pigmentation in limited skin areas. TM , ANTIBACTERIAL ACTION ,• , In connection with the •reported tendency of nonionic surfactants to lower the efficacy of many antibacterial agents, it was observed that various phenols react with surface-active polyethers to produce an' insoluble oil which may be responsible for problems such as irregular release of anti- bacterial agents and breakag• of emulsions. TM Microelectrophoretic studies indicated that the exterior of E. coli cells is a polysaccharide, possibly an arabate. • A review of bacteriophage described the prophave as occupying a definite site on the bacterial chromosome, dividing with the nucleus, and occasionally leaving the host to form free phage particles with tadpole-like structure, the head consisting of deoxyribonucleic acid, the tail and the covering of the head of protein the tail punctures the membrance of a bacterial cell, and the DNA of the head is injected into the bacterium, to attach to the chromosome and to synthesise viral DNA fromm the bacterial nucleic acid. TM EFFECTS OF VITAMINS ON SKIN ' On a diet free of vitamin' A, mice had hair-growth cycles as long as 24 days instead of '21 'days on normal diets. •5 The methyl ether or the palmitate of vitamin A, applied in 95 per cent alcohol to the backs of plucked mice, caused irritation which was greater in regions of resting follicles than in'regions ' of follicle growth. TM Hyperkeratosis produced in animals by chlorinated naphthalene or chlorinated phenols was accompanied by low vitamin A levels in the serum.•" Capillary resistance in rabbits was decreased by. reducing their diet to « to • the normal amount administration of , vitamins B 2, B •, C. P, and K increased the capillary resistance but izitamin B • had' no effect. TM ' AGEING Among the recent books on ageing, Hormones and the Aging Process, TM edited by. Engle and Pincas, and The Biology of Senescence, TM by Comfort, may be mentioned. In old persons, milk proteins were found to have a better substitutive value than wheat proteins, reversing the situation found in younger adults. m Normal individuals showed no change in basal respira- tory rate nor in tidal volume with advanqing age, but efficiency of ventilation was reduced about 20 per cent. m In men of 65-75 years, corticotropin appears in the blood as an activable fo•m, instead of the active form found in the blood of normal young men. TM