Restrictions on the applicability of mixed ligand chelate therapy (MLC) in acute cadmium intoxication.

An experimental study of the comparative effectiveness of single and mixed ligand chelates as antidotes for acute cadmium poisoning reveals few appreciable differences when the cadmium (as cadmium chloride or acetate) is administered ip. In each case the mixed ligand chelate system showed little or no improvement over the results obtained with the most effective of the individual components. This procedure, using mixed ligand chelate systems, may well be one which is limited to conditions more narrowly similar to those reported by Schubert and Derr (1978). It does not appear to possess the broad range of applicability which might be expected from the equilibrium principles on which it is based. By comparing our data with previous studies it can be seen that Na2CaEDTA is capable of offsetting the lethality of ip cadmium chloride when the latter is administered at rather higher levels that have previously been counteracted by any of the sulfur containing chelating agents tested to date.