Dimercaprol

Dimercaprol
Skeletal formula and ball and stick model of dimercaprol
Clinical data
Trade namesBAL in Oil
Other names2,3-Dimercaptopropanol
British Anti-Lewisite
2,3-Dithiopropanol
2,3-Dimercaptopropan-1-ol
British antilewisite
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
License data
Routes of
administration
intramuscular
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
ExcretionUrine[1]
Identifiers
  • 2,3-Bis(sulfanyl)propan-1-ol[2]
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.000.394 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC3H8OS2
Molar mass124.22 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
Density1.239 g cm−3 g/cm3
Boiling point393 °C (739 °F) at 2.0 kPa
  • OCC(S)CS
  • InChI=1S/C3H8OS2/c4-1-3(6)2-5/h3-6H,1-2H2 checkY
  • Key:WQABCVAJNWAXTE-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Dimercaprol, also called British anti-Lewisite (BAL), is a medication used to treat acute poisoning by arsenic, mercury, gold, and lead.[3] It may also be used for antimony, thallium, or bismuth poisoning, although the evidence for those uses is not very strong.[3][4] It is given by injection into a muscle.[3]

Common side effects include high blood pressure, pain at the site of the injection, vomiting, and fever.[3] It is not recommended for people with peanut allergies as it is typically formulated as a suspension in peanut oil.[3] It is unclear if use in pregnancy is safe for the baby.[3] Dimercaprol is a chelator and works by binding with heavy metals.[3] It has a very pungent odor.

Dimercaprol was first made during World War II.[5] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[6]

  1. ^ Poisoning in Children. Jaypee Brothers Publishers. 2013. p. 70. ISBN 978-93-5025-773-9.
  2. ^ Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry : IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013 (Blue Book). Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2014. p. 697. doi:10.1039/9781849733069-FP001. ISBN 978-0-85404-182-4. The prefixes 'mercapto' (–SH), and 'hydroseleno' or selenyl (–SeH), etc. are no longer recommended.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Dimercaprol". The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ^ World Health Organization (2009). Stuart MC, Kouimtzi M, Hill SR (eds.). WHO Model Formulary 2008. World Health Organization. p. 62. hdl:10665/44053. ISBN 978-92-4-154765-9.
  5. ^ Greenwood D (2008). "Antiprotozoal Agents". Antimicrobial Drugs: Chronicle of a Twentieth Century Medical Triumph. OUP Oxford. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-19-953484-5. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
  6. ^ World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.