Re: Glutaraldehyde: a different kind of cautionary tale

Katharine Thayer wrote:
>
> MARTINM wrote:
> > " The more I hear about colloid hardening, the less I seem to know about it.
> > This might have to do with the vagueness of the term "hardening".
>
> Do you think it means such different things? In the leather industry,
> the test for knowing leather is "tanned" is whether it shrinks in
> boiling water. I *believe* that properly-hardened gelatin doesn't
> dissolve in boiling water (am I wrong about that?), and I know for a
> fact that properly-hardened gum doesn't dissolve in boiling water. So
> wouldn't being impervious to boiling water be a reasonable criterion for
> hardening?
>

By my criterion above, I suppose glyoxal-hardened gelatin wouldn't
qualify, as it is said that it can be dissolved in boiling water. But
if it's not impervious to boiling water, then by what criterion is it
considered to be hardened? In which case you're right, the term is too
vague.
kt
Received on Wed May 5 22:45:05 2004