Antidotes for gold (sodium bis[thiosulfato]gold[I]) intoxication in mice.

Eight compounds were examined to determine their relative efficacy as antidotes in acute gold intoxication in mice after the intraperitoneal injection of 200 mg/kg of Na3 [Au(S2O3)2] X 2H2O. Of the compounds examined, 2,3 dimercaptosuccinic acid was the most effective antidote. It was noted that with D-penicillamine those animals which did not survive died sooner (in a matter of hours) than the corresponding control animals which had received no antidote (about 3 days). In subsequent experiments in which Na3 [Au(S2O3)2] X 2H2O was administered at the lower level of 140 mg/kg, 2,3 dimercaptosuccinic acid showed itself to be capable of reducing kidney gold levels by a factor of about 5 and liver gold levels by a factor of approximately 2.