Chemistry is important in saving lives.
Dimercaptosuccinic acid--or DMSA for short--is a "colorless" chemical compound that occurs in two forms, melts at around 257 degrees Fahrenheit, and has an unappealing smell. It is commercially used in medicine under the name Chemet.
Chemistry
The chemical formula for DMSA is C4H6O4S2. This means that it is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and silicon.
The two forms DMSA occurs in are the meso form and the chiral dl form, both of which are called diastereoisomers, due to the fact that each has the same chemical formula of each other but they are not mirror images in how they are arranged.
Making of DMSA
DMSA can be made by first reacting either fumaric acid or maleic acid with sodium thiosulfate and then hydrolyzing it (making it react with water).
Function
DMSA is used as an antidote for lead poisoning and mercury poisoning, though it does not prevent lead poisoning. Specifically, DMSA is used as a chelating agent, meaning that it combines with heavy metals to form what is known as a chelate, a compound of a metal and a nonmetal.
Considerations
Though it can pass the blood brain barrier in mice, DMSA cannot pass the blood brain barrier in people. This means that DMSA cannot be used to chelate heavy metals from the central nervous system.
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