Sulfanegen is an experimental

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...

for

cyanide poisoning Cyanide poisoning is poisoning that results from exposure to any of a number of forms of cyanide. Early symptoms include headache, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath, and vomiting. This phase may then be followed by seizures, slow h ...

. It is being studied as a

prodrug A prodrug is a medication or compound that, after intake, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Instead of administering a drug directly, a corresponding prodrug can be used to improve how the drug ...

for

3-mercaptopyruvic acid 3-Mercaptopyruvic acid is an intermediate in cysteine metabolism. It has been studied as a potential treatment for cyanide poisoning, but its half-life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half ...

(3-MP). 3-MP has been studied as a potential treatment for

, but the

half-life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...

is too short for it to be clinically effective. Instead, alternative chemicals such as sulfanegen, the

hemithioacetal In organic chemistry, hemithioacetals (or thiohemiacetals) are organosulfur compounds with the general formula . They are the sulfur analogues of the acetals, , with an oxygen atom replaced by sulfur (as implied by the ''thio-'' prefix). Because ...

cyclic

dimer Dimer may refer to: * Dimer (chemistry), a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units ** Protein dimer, a protein quaternary structure ** d-dimer * Dimer model, an item in statistical mechanics, based on ''domino tiling'' * Julius Dimer ( ...

of 3-MP, are being evaluated that produce 3-MP in vivo to compensate for the short half-life of 3-MP itself. Sulfanegen has been shown to be effective in animal studies. It is being studied as the di

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, sulfanegen sodium, and the

triethanolamine Triethanolamine, or TEA is a viscous organic compound that is both a tertiary amine and a triol. A triol is a molecule with three alcohol groups. Approximately 150,000 tonnes were produced in 1999. It is a colourless compound although samples m ...

salt, sulfanegen TEA. One advantage various sulfanegen formulations have over existing treatments for acute cyanide poisoning is that they might be administered by

intramuscular injection Intramuscular injection, often abbreviated IM, is the injection of a substance into a muscle. In medicine, it is one of several methods for parenteral administration of medications. Intramuscular injection may be preferred because muscles have ...

or orally rather than by

intravenous infusion Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutrie ...

References

{{reflist Antidotes Dithianes Dicarboxylic acids Alpha hydroxy acids