A theory of partial osmotic pressures and membrane equilibria, with special reference to the application of Dalton's Law to hæmoglobin solutions in the presence of salts

Abstract

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures affords a point of departure for the discussion of the osmotic of colloidal solutions. The observed osmotic pressure of a solution of a protein such as hæmoglobin is essentially a property of the protein system as a whole, and a knowledge of the partial pressures of the various components is of service in a systematic study of the properties of the solution. It will be shown that many of the difficulties in the interpretation of such systems can be overcome by the application of Dalton's Law in the form used by Gibbs.