Ethylmercury

Ethylmercury (sometimes ethyl mercury) is a cation composed of an ethyl group and a mercury atom; its chemical formula is C₂H₅Hg⁺. "Ethylmercury" is sometimes used as a generic term to describe organomercury compounds which include ethylmercury such as ethylmercury chloride and ethylmercury urea.

Ethylmercury is one of the metabolites of thiomersal, which is used as a preservative in some vaccines. For this application, the ethylmercury salt sodium ethylmercuric thiosalicylate is used. Thiomersal (C₉H₉HgNaO₂S) is made from the combination of ethyl mercuric chloride, thiosalicylic acid, sodium hydroxide and ethanol.

Unlike methylmercury, ethylmercury has not been found to bioaccumulate. [http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/thimerosal.htm NIAID Research on Thimerosal] The toxicity of ethylmercury is not well studied, but exposure standards based on methylmercury (such as those currently recommended by the EPA) are not demonstrated to be equivalent for ethylmercury. [http://www.ehponline.org/press/042105.html Thimerosal, Methylmercury React Differently in the Brains of Infants, Study Says. "Environmental Health Perspectives" April 27, 2005.]

References

External links

* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html ATSDR - ToxFAQs: Mercury]
* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs46.html ATSDR - Public Health Statement: Mercury]
* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/alerts/970626.html ATSDR - ALERT! Patterns of Metallic Mercury Exposure, 6/26/97]
* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/MHMI/mmg46.html ATSDR - MMG: Mercury]
* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp46.html ATSDR - Toxicological Profile: Mercury]
* [http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/53.html National Pollutant Inventory - Mercury and compounds Fact Sheet]
* [http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/114/3/793 "Pediatrics" article on thiomersal] Full text of peer reviewed medical journal. Sarah K. Parker, MD, Benjamin Schwartz, MD{ddagger}, James Todd, MD and Larry K. Pickering, MD. "Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Critical Review of Published Original Data." PEDIATRICS Vol. 114 No. 3 September 2004, pp. 793–804
* [http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/diffdx/mercurysources.html Anapsid.org] - 'Common Sources of Ethylmercury: Products containing ethyl mercury thiosalicylic acid as a preservative', compiled by Melissa Kaplan