Roberta Foresti and Roberto Motterlini of the PROTECT team, co-authors of an article in the February 21 PNAS journal and relayed in Le Monde on March 1, 2023 on an injectable antidote capable of saving lives in case of inhalation of fumes containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

In fires, highly toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) are generated simultaneously during the combustion of building materials. When inhaled, these two gases bind strongly to hemoglobin, cytochromes and other hemes in living organisms, inhibiting aerobic respiration. To date, there is no therapeutic approach to overcome simultaneous CO and HCN poisoning.

An international team including Roberta Foresti and Roberto Motterlini of the PROTECT team and coordinated by Hiroaki Kitagishi (Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan) have invented here a synthetic model heme compound (hemoCD-Twins) to provide an emergency life-saving treatment. This compound captures inhaled CO and cyanide in animals in a single injection and is rapidly eliminated by urinary excretion.
With its immediate antidotal effect, high safety and storage stability, hemoCD-Twins has great potential as a ready-to-use antidote for fire gas poisoning.

 

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