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NOTE ON THE PENETRATION OF HYDROXYL IONS INTO GELATIN JELLIES
Author(s) -
GRAY J.
Publication year - 1925
Publication title -
biological reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.993
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1469-185X
pISSN - 1464-7931
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-185x.1925.tb00552.x
Subject(s) - staining , penetration (warfare) , chemistry , gelatin , caustic (mathematics) , neutral red , alkali metal , potash , ammonia , ion , living cell , biophysics , nuclear chemistry , potassium , biochemistry , biology , organic chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , cytotoxicity , genetics , physics , operations research , engineering , in vitro , mathematical physics
O ne of the characteristic features of living cells is that they are permeable to ammonia, but relatively impermeable to caustic soda or caustic potash. The usual method of demonstrating this fact is by staining cells with neutral red. This dye is readily taken up by living cells and is at first diffused through the cytoplasm, which thereby acquires a distinct red colour. At a later stage the dye is usually aggregated into irregular granules. When exposed to dilute solutions of ammonia the neutral red in living cells rapidly becomes yellow, indicating the penetration of the alkali. In NaOH or K. OH the colour of the dye does not change, however, until the cell begins to show obvious signs of degeneration.