THE TOXICITY AND SKIN IRRITANT EFFECT OF CERTAIN DERIVATIVES OF DICHLOROETHYL SULFIDE

¹ From the Laboratory of Pharmacology, Washington University, School of Medicine, St. Louis

The toxicity on subcutaneous injection into mice has been determined, for a number of derivatives of dichloroethyl sulfide. Certain relations between toxicity and chemical constitution have been pointed out.

2. The skin irritant effect of these compounds has been examined on man. Dichloroethyl sulfone is of the same order of activity as dichloroethyl sulfide, while dichloroethyl sulfoxide is practically inert. The former hydrolizes readily in weak alkali, while the latter does not. The activity of the other compounds has been discussed.

3. The compounds have been examined for their antiseptic properties.

4. The toxicity of dichloroethyl sulfoxide and dichloroethyl sulfone, while of the same magnitude for mice, is markedly different for unicellular organisms, the latter being a hundred times more toxic than the former.

5. The solubility of certain of the derivatives in water and xylene, as well as their rapidity of hydrolysis to yield an acid has been determined. An attempt has been made to correlate with these properties their physiological action as far as determined.

6. The evidence obtained as far as it goes is not in disagreement with the theory of intracellular acid production previously proposed to explain the action of mustard gas. Considerable support is given the theory by the study of the dichloroethyl sulfoxide and sulfone.