레위시트

레위시트 화학적 특성, 용도, 생산

• 개요

  Dr Wilford Lee Lewis first synthesized lewisite in 1918 for use as a vesicant chemical warfare agent. This synthesis was based on the thesis work of Julius Arthur Nieuwland at the Catholic University of America. Its discovery was made too late for use during World War I, but was later weaponized and garnered the nickname ‘Dew of Death.’ Several countries have manufactured and stockpiled lewisite; however, none have officially reported its battlefield use.

• 화학적 성질

  Colorless liquid when pure; geraniumlike odor. Impurities lead to colors ranging from violet to brown, decomposed by water and alkalies. Inactivated by bleaching powder. Antidote is dimercaptopropanol.

• 물리적 성질

  Lewisite is also a systemic poison, which can result in pulmonary edema, diarrhea, restlessness, weakness, subnormal temperature, and low blood pressure. Severity of symptoms, in order of appearance, are blister agent, toxic lung irritant, tissue absorption, and systemic poison. If inhaled in high enough concentrations, lewisite can cause death in as little as 10 min. Common routes of exposure into the body are through the eyes, skin, and inhalation. Lewisite is an oily colorless liquid when pure. “War gas” is amber to dark brown in color with a geranium-like odor; pure lewisite has little, if any, odor. Lewisite is much more volatile than mustard agents. Often, lewisite is mixed with mustard to lower the boiling point of the mixture. The military designation for the mustard/lewisite mixture is (HL). Lewisite is insoluble in water and has a specific gravity, which makes it heavier than water. It has a vapor density more than seven times heavier than air. Lewisite has a low level of flammability, with no flash point or flammable range identified.

• 용도

  Lewisite is an arsenical vesicant/blister agent used in chemical warfare.

• 위험도

  Vesicant gas, a poison. See arsenic.

• Pharmaceutical Applications

  Lewisite is an arsenic-based chemical warfare agent used in form of a blister gas. Further research showed that it can be used as an antidote against a variety of toxic metals. Additionally, it was used in the treatment of Wilson disease, which is a chronic disease in which the body retains excess amounts of copper. Heavy-metal poisoning often results from the coordination of the metal to sulfhydryl groups of enzymes, which means that these enzymes are blocked for their activity. BAL also contains sulfhydryl groups and basically competes with the enzymes for the coordination of the metal. The chelated complex is then excreted in the urine. Whilst BAL removes a range of heavy metals, it also seems to increase the concentration of some metals in the human body and therefore limits its use. It is not indicated as an antidote for cadmium (increased levels are found in the kidneys after treatment), selenium or iron poisoning.

• Safety Profile

  A human poison by inhalation. Poison experimentally by inhalation, skin contact, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, and intravenous routes. An

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