Linus Pauling: I patented with a couple of other people in the laboratory, the oxypolygelatin. I don't remember when I had the idea of
making oxypolygelatin. Perhaps in 1940 or thereabouts.
Thomas Hager: And oxypolygelatin really never caught on, did it? As a plasma substitute?
Linus Pauling: Well, it wasn't approved by the Plasma Substitute Committee. And it was manufactured for veterinary use. My understanding
is that it is still being manufactured in some places, but I don't have information. The Committee on Plasma Substitutes
said that it shouldn't be administered, because it wasn't homogeneous, molecularly. It involves a range of molecular weights.
I felt that, what difference does it make if there is a range of molecular weights, if it works?
Thomas Hager: Well, it's not as though there aren't a range of molecular weight substances in plasma anyway.
Linus Pauling: Yes. Blood...in the plasma you have serum albumin with a molecular weight of about 65,000 and serum globulin with molecular
weight of 160,000. So what difference does it make if there is a range of molecular weights?
