Rannsóknir á hvataðri myndun þíósíanats - verkefni lokið
Fréttatilkynning verkefnisstjóra
A key result from this project is the identification of a lead compound fulfilling the required properties for further development as an emergency treatment for cyanide poisoning.
The project studied the
catalytic formation of thiocyanate from the reaction of cyanide with a sulfur
donor in the presence of catalyst. The FDA approved compound, thiosulfate is commonly co-administered with cyanide poisoning treatments as sulfur donor to
facilitate thiocyanate formation in vivo.
Thiocyanate is a physiological product of a biocatalytic reaction of
cyanide and sulfur catalyzed by the rhodanase enzyme in the liver. At
conditions of high cyanide exposure, physiological processing of cyanide is not
sufficiently rapid to prevent death. In this project, catalytic transfer of sulfur
from thiosulfate to cyanide using molybdenum sulfur compounds was shown to
facilitate thiocyanate formation sufficiently rapidly to save lives. The
catalysts are non-toxic, highly water soluble, and act without sacrificing
oxygen transport. Development of such compounds as emergency treatments against
cyanide poisoning has high impact worldwide for improved public health where it
has been shown that cyanide poisoning is a common contributor to smoke
inhalation injuries and for firefighters who currently are not provided with
protection against cyanide poisoning.
A key result from this project is the identification of a lead compound fulfilling the required properties for further development as an emergency treatment for cyanide poisoning. Such treatment will benefit the general public upon accidental exposure to cyanide poisoning commonly concurrent to carbon monoxide poisoning in smoke inhalation injuries. Patent application was filed internationally and awarded. The results will be applied for product development in a project supported by Tækniþróunarsjóður (grant nr. 164784) and a continuing research project.
Several graduate and undergraduate students contributed to the success of this project. These students presented their work in Iceland at the Icelandic Chemical Society meetings, and at The School of Engineering and Natural Sciences Public Outreach days. Internationally students and the principial investigator presented the project results as poster or oral presentations at COST Action CM1105 meetings and at EUROBIC meetings representing the bioinorganic research community in Europe and USA. COST Action CM1105 also supported a scientific mission for a Ph.D. student, and inspired new collaborations.
Published Articles
1. Gretarsdóttir, J.M, Bobersky, S., Metzler-Nolte, N., Suman, S.G., “Cytotoxicity Studies of Water Soluble Coordination Compounds with a [Mo2O2S2]2+ Core” J. Inorg. Biochem. 2016, 160, 166-171.
Heiti verkefnis: Rannsóknir á
hvataðri myndun þíósíanats / Mechanistic Studies of Catalytic Thiocyanate
Formation
Verkefnisstjóri: Sigríður G. Suman, Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans
Tegund styrks: Verkefnisstyrkur
Styrkár: 2014-2016
Fjárhæð styrks: 29,999 millj. kr.
Tilvísunarnúmer Rannís: 1409094505
