On the correlation between the spectra of various hæmoglobins and their relative affinities for oxygen and carbon monoxide

Abstract

The spectra of the hæmoglobins from different animals, and even different mammals, are measurably different. The relative affinities of these hæmoglobins for oxygen and carbon monoxide are also different, and it turns out that certain properties of the chemical affinities and of the spectra are so related that by the use of a simple equation they may be deduced from one another. That the spectra of the hæmoglobins of all forms of life are not the same was discovered by Sorby (1), and has since been verified by Vlès (2), who has carefully mapped out the spectra of a number of animals, notably Arenicola and the horse. The particular difference with which we are concerned in this paper is in the position of the α-band, which was found by J. and H. Barcroft (3) to occupy a place in Arenicola 18 Angstrom units from that which it occupies in man. The considerations which have led us to undertake the present research are to be found in their paper.