Specific Organotin Antibacterial

Becanse of the increased worldwide production or organotin compounds for commercial use considerable amounts of organotins have entered various ecosystems. Inorganic tin compounds are often said to be nontoxic, but their toxicity ranges 

Here we will look at some findings that highhght potential modes of activity as well as problems associated with looking at organotin activity. Further, essentially no mechanistic studies have been carried out on tin polymers, so results from studies of small molecule-containing organotin agents will be examined. 

Because of their widespread use industrially many of the mechanistic studies have involved triaLkyltin chlorides and dialkyltin chlorides. Di-n-butyltin dichloride (DBTC) and tri-n-butyltin chloride (TBTC) are the most widely used organotin compounds because of their relatively low toxicity to humans and their high toxicity to bacteria. We will also look at results from other organisms to indicate possible sites of attack. 

Trimethyltin (TMT) is a powerful toxin that selectively kills cells in the CNS, lung, kidney, spleen, and in the immune system [60-62]. In fact, its toxicity has lead to its use to describe the phenotype observed after intoxication in rodents. Abnormalities after intoxication include self-mutilation, vocalization, whole-body tremors, hyper-reactivity to tonching, and spontaneous seizures [63]. 

Similar pathological responses have been found for other mammals including humans [64,65]. 

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