β Scribed by Mazia, Daniel
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The present investigation of the binding of cations by Elodea protoplasm was carried on parallel with experiments on the penetration of cations. The main purpose of this paper is to give the facts upon which the penetration experiments were based. However, data on cation binding are intrinsically interesting, because there has been so much speculation on the role of bound ions in cellular activities. More quantitative data will be presented later, but the main facts are most clearly seen in the simple and easily repeated qualitative cx- periments. By bound cation, in this discussion is meant cation associated with weakly acidic groups of large and relatively immobile organic anions. I t corresponds to the 'non-diffusible' cation of blood serum.
MET H 0 D S Leaves of Elodea canadensis from a number of different sources were used, with similar results. The cells of this plant are peculiarly adapted to the work with alkaline earth cations, because they contain in their vacuoles an abundance of soluble oxalate, presumably KHC,O,. I n the more distal leaves of healthy plants, no crystals of Ca oxalate are found in the cell vacuoles. Only such leaves were used in the present investigation.
National Research Fellow in Natural Sciences.
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