The principle of formaldehyde, alcohol, and acetone titrations an addendum

In a recent paper (Richardson, 1934, a), the extensive literature concerning the titration of amino-acids in presence of formaldehyde, alcohol, and acetone was examined. The intention was to outline the principles which underlie these titrations, and thence to deduce the experimental conditions which would be suited to particular analytical ends. In developing the argument, however, views were criticized which were thought to have been accepted by certain observers in describing their special techniques. It has since been pointed out that such criticism is liable to misunderstanding, and it is hoped by this note to remove any confusion unintentionally introduced into a matter already sufficiently involved. The argument in the paper referred to was based throughout on the zwitterionic theory. Whilst this theory cannot be proved to be completely descriptive of the intermediate processes of titration, it nevertheless affords a basis for a simple description of the mechanism of titration which is in close accordance with the information at present available.