Gutta-percha

Gutta-percha, Guttapercha, the coagulated latex obtained from incisions in various species of trees from the family Sapotaceae, mainly Palaquium, Payena, etc., which reach 20-25 meters in height and grow on the Sunda Islands, in New Guinea, and on the Malay Peninsula. The best varieties of G. are more or less spongy, whitish, reddish, or grayish-yellow masses, while the inferior varieties are gray or brown in color. G. does not dissolve in water, but dissolves completely in chloroform, petroleum ether, turpentine, carbon disulfide, etc.; at room temperature G. is tacky and can be easily cut with a knife, at 45° it softens, and at 50-80° it becomes quite plastic, taking any form which it retains upon solidification; it vulcanizes like rubber. In the air it oxidizes and becomes brittle; when isolated from air (e.g., under water) it is preserved significantly longer. In composition it is similar to rubber and mainly contains the polyterpene gutta (C₁₀H₁₆)_n. Gutta-percha paper (Percha la-mellata), purified and rolled into thin sheets of G., is used as a dressing material. Percha in bacillis is pure white or grayish-white, rolled into sticks of G., and is used for dental fillings; it should be stored under water. Traumaticin (Traumaticinum), a solution of G. in chloroform, is used as a substitute for collodion.