Is calomel truly a poison and what happens when it enters the human stomach? A study from the thermodynamic viewpoint

Abstract

The chemical and electrochemical equilibria involving mercurous and mercuric chlorides in the conditions, corresponding to the human stomach environment, were studied from the point of view of chemical thermodynamics. The Gibbs free energies of formation of various mercury and chlorine compounds, the equilibrium constants, and the electrode potentials of reactions involving these compounds at 37°C were calculated. The potential-pH diagrams of

Disclosing the Preferential Mercury Chelation by SeCys Containing Peptides over Their Cys Analogues

“…AVP Peptide Reactivity with Hg 2 Cl 2 . In the case of Hg 2 Cl 2 , experiments were hampered by the low solubility of calomel in aqueous solution 45 making the precise control of Hg excess at low concentrations impossible. Therefore, incubations were performed exclusively in the presence of an excess of calomel (approximately, 3 equiv, at 4.2 μM concentration) during 18 h. Under these conditions, the AVP peptide remained almost unreacted while high amounts of (Se−Se)-and (S−Se)-AVP were largely converted into the Hg-bridged adducts (Figure S32 and 7C).…”

“…In the case of Hg 2 Cl 2 , experiments were hampered by the low solubility of calomel in aqueous solution making the precise control of Hg excess at low concentrations impossible. Therefore, incubations were performed exclusively in the presence of an excess of calomel (approximately, 3 equiv, at 4.2 μM concentration) during 18 h.…”