Reactions of thiols with organic mercury compounds

Abstract

1. 1. The reaction of two classes of organic mercury compounds, i.e. phenylmercuric compounds and mercurial diuretics, with glutathione and 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanol (BAL) was studied polarographically. 2. 2. The organic mercury compounds and their mercaptides are reduced at the dropping mercury electrode with distinct half-wave potentials, thus permitting their qualitative and quantitative differentiation. 3. 3. The organic mercury compounds can be liberated quantitatively from their mercaptides by treatment with an excess of inorganic mercury. 4. 4. The mechanism and the kinetics of the reaction between mercurial diuretics and BAL have been studied in detail. It proceeds in two stages, the second one leading to the formation of an insoluble, cyclic BAL-mercury complex, which provides an explanation for the suppression of mercurial diuresis by BAL.