Some Physicochemical Properties of Dissociated Sponge Cells

1. The activity of the hydrogen ion, in a system containing 0.00280 mols of NaAc, 0.520 mols of NaCl per liter, and varied amounts of HCl or NaOH has been investigated. The average value of pK' for acetic add in this system is about 4.37. 2. The effect of the addition of various amounts of HCl and NaOH to a system containing 0.00280 mols of NaAc, 0.520 mols of NaCl, and a known number of cells of either Microciona prolifera or Cliona celata was then studied. It was found that in weak acid solutions Microciona behaves as a stronger base than Cliona, the former being practically saturated with base at a pH of 7.5. Similar behavior is shown by suspensions of cells to which no acid or base was added: the cells of Cliona are more acidic than the cells of Microciona. 3. The microscopic examinations of the cells subjected to the treatment with acid or base indicate that the cells of Microciona remain alive down to pH 4.50; the cells of Cliona sustain greater acidity,- a,t pH 3.7 they exhibit no signs of cytolysis. Tests for aggregation of these cells showed that this phenomenon is greatly inhibited even by slightly acid solutions. 4. The conclusion is drawn that the concentration of cells being equal, the suspensions of cells of Microciona and Cliona differ from each other in their physicochemical properties, the comparison being made on suspensions of specified composition.