Demonstration of multiple forms of acid phosphatase in hemolymph of the African snail, Archachatina marginata.

1. Hemolymph from the giant African snail Archachatina marginata has been analyzed for its content of certain lysosomal hydrolases and shown to contain substantial quantities of acid phosphatase (285 units/ml) hexosaminidase (512 units per ml) and beta-glucuronidase (28 units/ml). 2. Hemolymph acid phosphatase can be fractionated into 6 active components by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography. 3. Some of the acid phosphatase species can be distinguished on the basis of heat stability, pH dependency and sensitivity to inhibitors including phosphate, L(+) tartrate, fluoride, formaldehyde and 1.10 phenanthroline.