Chelating Agents Used for Plutonium and Uranium Removal in Radiation Emergency Medicine

Abstract

The prospects of using chelating agents for increasing the excretion of actinides are reviewed. The removal of plutonium by chelating agents is of great importance because plutonium is extremely dangerous and induces cancer due to radiation toxicity. Similarly, uranium is a radionuclide, which causes severe renal dysfunction within a short time period due to chemical toxicity. It may also induce cancers such as leukemia and osteosarcoma in cases of long-term internal radiation exposure. Investigations on chelating agents for the removal of plutonium were initiated in the 1960's and 1970's. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) is recognized as a chelating agent that accelerates the excretion of plutonium in early treatment after an accident. Thereafter, there has long been an interest in finding new chelating agents with radionuclide removal properties for use in therapy, and many chelating agents such as 3,4,3-LIHOPO and CBMIDA have been studied for their ability to remove plutonium and uranium. Recently, the focus has turned to drugs that have been used successfully in the treatment of a variety of other diseases, for example the iron chelating drug deferiprone or 1,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxypyrid-4-one (L1), which is used in thalassaemia and ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-bisphosphonate (EHBP), which is used in osteoporosis. Within this context, it is important to examine the clinical use of these two drugs as well as the properties of the experimental chelators 3,4,3-LIHOPO and CBMIDA in order to identify possible uses in the treatment of radiation workers contaminated with plutonium and uranium.

Iron Chelating Agents for Iron Overload Diseases

“…Some ligands of the HP family were also studied for the treatment of toxicity of other hard metal ions: aluminium, by Santos et al 42,43 and plutonium by Fukuda. 44 A number of tetradentate 3,4-HP chelators have been studied by the group of Santos; 45,46 in one case two 3,4-HP chelating moieties were connected by an iminodiacetic acid (IDA) scaffold, with a 1,4-disubstituted arylpiperazine on the nitrogen atom in the linker. The same authors also presented: -Two hexadentate ligands, based on the KEMP acid scaffold to which three 3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone chelating moieties are attached via two differently sized spacers, the trishydroxypyridinone based compounds KEMPPr(3,4-HP) 3 and MPBu(3,4-HP) 3 .…”

Tailored and Functionalized Magnetite Particles for Biomedical and Industrial Applications

“…The authors synthesized a bisphosphonate derivative, DA-BP, which modifies the magnetite nanoparticles for the successful decorporation of the radioactive metal from blood due to the chelating effect (Fukuda, 2005). Starting from this study, a protocol that allows the detection and recovery of other heavy metal toxins from the biological systems has been developed and perfected.…”

Phosphate-Mediated Remediation of Metals and Radionuclides

“…The devastating 2011 earthquake of the coast of Japan and the subsequent tsunami that destroyed three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex highlight a more recent challenge to remediation and disposal of large quantities of nuclear fuel materials including radionuclides. The scope of the remediation challenge is considerable, as deleterious effects to human health, surrounding environment, and food supply are well known due to metal and radionuclide exposure and ingestion [7][8][9][10]. Moreover, the presence of these contaminants negatively impacts ecosystem sustainability and contribute to the loss of biodiversity [11].…”