Monovalent ions mercurous

Study of the solutions of monovalent ions [Anions, Argentous and Mercurous]... 

The effects of inorganic salts on plasma cholinesterase (E16) are largely contradictory. Fruentova (F9) reported that divalent cations are more effective inhibitors of horse serum cholinesterase than are monovalent ions, whereas divalent ions are frequently reported to have a marked activating effect (H38, T8, VI). Lithium and sodium nitrates have been shown by in vitro studies of the reaction of human plasma cholinesterase with benzoylcholine to have identical inhibition profiles (W21), while sodium and potassium chlorides had very similar inhibitory actions on the hydrolysis of acetylcholine by human plasma (H47). Silver nitrate, copper sulfate, and mercuric chloride are powerful inhibitors of F. polycolor butyrylcholinesterase (N2). Cohen and Oosterbaum (C12) concluded that activation by cations occurring at the usual substrate concentration is highly dependent on the experimental conditions. This supposition is very relevant to the somewhat random choice of buffers and substrates in the work reported above. 

The most widely used titrant for such determinations is diamino-ethane-tetra-acetic acid (ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid) which is conveniently employed as the disodium salt, referred to throughout this book as EDTA. (The titrant is referred to in the B,P, and B,P,C, as sodium edetate, but this synonym has not gained universal acceptance.) Many other amino-polycarboxylic acids have been used and in certain special applications they may have some advantage for routine pharmaceutical work, however, it has not been found necessary to use any titrant other than EDTA. This substance reacts stoichiometrically with most metals to form a 1 1 complex and, usually, the reaction is instantaneous (but see Aluminium, p. 32). pH has a marked effect on the stability of the complexes formed the alkaline earth metals form complexes that are stable in alkaline solution but decompose in neutral and acid solution aluminium, copper, lead and mercury all complex under mildly acid conditions while bismuth and ferric iron form stable complexes in a solution as acid as pH 1. The monovalent ions of sodium, potassium and silver form complexes that are too weak to be used for titration purposes whilst mercurous mercury forms no complex,... 

Mercury forms two series of compounds, mercurous and mercuric, but the former are not compounds of monovalent Hg in the sense that cuprous compounds, for example, are derivatives of monovalent Cu. A number of elements form compounds in which there are metal-metal bonds but mercury is unique in forming, in addition to Hg and the normal mercuric compounds, a series of compounds based on the grouping (-Hg-Hg-). (Evidence for the formation of the Cdf ion in molten Cd2(AlCl4)2 at 250°C is limited to the observation of one Raman line. )... 

Inorganic mercury, existing as monovalent (mercurous) or divalent (mercuric) ions is relatively poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract (7% in humans). After absorption inorganic mercury accumulates in the kidney. 

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