International Programme on Chemical Safety
Poisons Information Monograph 980
Chemical
Thiodiglycol
Organic sulphur compound (a thio ether and an aliphatic diol)
Glyecine A; Kromfax solvent; Thiodiethylene glycol; beta-Thiodiglycol (RTECS).
CAS number:
RTECS number: KM2975000 (RTECS).
No data available.
Aldrich Chemical Co., Sigma Chemical Co.
Based on the structural similarity to ethylene glycol thiodiglycol may produce depression of the central nervous system, metabolic acidosis and renal failure in severe intoxication.
Thiodiglycol has been reported to be relatively non-toxic in animals. However studies carried out in 1941 on rats and guinea pigs showed irritation in the digestive tract and some effects on the kidney and bile after exposure to large amounts of thiodiglycol.
Diagnosis is based on history of exposure and clinical features.
The patient can appear intoxicated but without the odor of ethanol.
Treatment with ethanol will compete with thiodiglycol for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase and can slow down the formation of acidic metabolites. The suggested dosing regimen for intravenous ethanol consists of a loading dose of 10 cc/kg of a 10% ethanol solution followed by a continous infusion of 1.5 cc/kg/h. This may be administered orally or intravenously.
Synthetic.
Structural formula
HO-CH2-CH2-S-CH2-CH2-OH
Molecular formula
C4H10O2S
Molecular weight
122.19
Structural names
2,2'-thiodiethanol; Bis(beta-hydroxyethyl)sulfide; Bis(2-hydroxyethyl)sulfide; beta, beta'-Dihydroxydiethyl sulfide; beta, beta'-Dihydroxyethyl sulfide; beta-Hydroxyethyl sulfide; Sulfide, bis(2-hydroxyethyl) (RTECS); 2,2'-thiobis ethanol (Sigma); 2-hydroxyethyl sulfide (Aldrich); Bis(hydroxyethyl)sulfide (Budavari 1996).
Colourless (Lewis, 1996).
Liquid-viscous fluid.
Miscible in water and alcohol, slightly soluble in ether, chloroform (Budavari 1996)
Boiling point: 168°C (Budavari 1996)
Melting point: -16°C (Budavari 1996)
Flash point: 160°C (Budavari 1996)
Combustible when exposed to heat or flame. Reacts violently with acetone and sodium peroxide. When heated to decomposition it emits highly toxic fumes of SOx (Lewis, 1996).
Thiodiglycol is used as a precursor for sulphur mustard (Lee et al., 1996). It is also an important primary metabolite of sulphur mustard formed by simple hydrolysis (Davison et al., 1961; Roberts & Warwick, 1963).
Chemical workers manufacturing sulphur mustard gasses.
People employed in factories manufacturing sulphur mustard.
No human data available. In rat studies absorbed by this route.
No data available.
No human data available. In rat studies absorbed by this route.
No data available.
No data available.
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No data available.
No data available.
The apparent half-life of thiodiglycol in the urine of rats after cutaneous application of sulphur mustard is 2.4 days (Black et al., 1992).
Thiodiglycol is oxidized to four metabolites. In three of the four metabolites sulphur undergoes oxidation and in two of them acetic acid is formed. No information of toxic effects of the metabolites is recorded (Black et al., 1993). In rodents thiodiglycol can conjugate with glucuronic acid and sulphate or it can be converted to thiodiglycolic acid which can conjugate with glycine and glucuronic acid (Somani & Babu, 1989).
90% of an intraperitoneal dose of thiodiglycol in rats was excreted in the urine within 24 h and by 8 days virtually all of the dose had been excreted. There was no significant excretion in the faeces. The major metabolite was thiodiglycol sulphoxide, minor metabolites were thiodiglycol sulphone, S-(2-hydroxyethylsulphinyl)acetic acid and
S-(2-hydroxyethylthio)acetic acid. Only around 0.5 to 1% of thiodiglycol was excreted unchanged (Black et al., 1993). Background levels of thiodiglycol in human urine are normally <1 ng/mL (Black & Read, 1995).Others have reported background levels of thiodiglycol to be from 1 to 55 ng/mL (Wils et al., 1985, Wils et al., 1988). The source of these background levels is unknown (Black & Read, 1995).
No data available.
No data available.
No data available.
LD50 (lethal dose that kills 50% of animals exposed) values for Thiodiglycol:
LD50, Rabbit, adminstration onto the skin: 20 mL/kg (Union carbide data sheet 1971).
LD50, Mouse, subcutaneous: 4 to 5 mL/kg (Anslow et al., 1948).
LD50, Rat, subcutaneous: 4 mL/kg (Anslow et al., 1948).
LD50, Rat,oral: 6.61 g/kg (Smyth et al., 1941).
LD50, Guinea pig, oral: 3.96 g/kg (Smyth et al., 1941).
No data available.
No data available.
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No data available.
Administration of 500 mg thiodiglycol onto rabbit skin showed a mild irritation (Union carbide data sheet 1971).
0.5 mL of undiluted thiodiglycol administered into the rabbit eye, induced a moderate severe reaction (Carpenter & Smyth, 1946). No further information about the clinical effects of thiodiglycol is available.
No data available.
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No data is available on thiodiglycol and its effect on the CNS. Clinical effects could be similar to the clinical effects of ethylene glycol (1,2-ethanediol) (HO-CH2-CH2-OH) (Budavari 1996), based on a similar chemical structure of the two compounds. Ethylene glycol acts as a central nervous system depressant, with the patient appearing acutely intoxicated but without the odor of ethanol (Davis et al., 1997).
No data available.
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No data available.
No data available on thiodiglycol, however acidic metabolites of ethylene glycol can cause acute tubular necrosis, primarily of the proximal tubules (Davis et al., 1997).
No data available.
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No data available.
Metabolic acidosis could occur as a result of acidic metabolites (Davis et al., 1997).
No data available.
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No data available.
No data available about treatment of thiodoglycol exposure. The chemical structure of thiodiglycol is similar to that of ethylene glycol (1,2-ethanediol) (HO-CH2-CH2-OH) (Budavari 1996), in that both compounds contain ethanol groups. Both compounds are substrates for the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme and both compounds forms acidic metabolites (Black et al., 1993, Davis et al., 1997). Based on this information it would be relevant to look at the main treatment options for ethylene glycol.
Make a proper assessment of airway, breathing, circulation and neurological status of the patient.
Adminster oxygen.
Monitor vital signs.
Monitor acid-base balance.
No data is available about the absorption time for thiodiglycol. However decontamination by gastric lavage and syrup of ipecac when exposed to ethylene glycol are not beneficial due to the rapidity with which ethylene glycol is absorbed. Neither lavage nor ipecac should be used (Davis et al., 1997).
Hemodialysis should be employed with a severe acidosis (Davis et al., 1997).
Treatment with ethanol may prevent some of the toxic effect of the acidic metabolites, since ethanol will compete with thiodiglycol for the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. The suggested dosing regimen for intravenous ethanol consists of a loading dose of 10 cc/kg of a 10% ethanol solution followed by a continous infusion of 1.5 cc/kg/h. This may be administered orally or intravenously (Davis et al., 1997).
No data available, see section 10.5.1.
Activated charcoal poorly absorbs alcohol, it is probably not indicated for thiodiglycol intoxication.
No data available
No data available.
No data available
Aldrich (1992-1993) Catalog Handbook of Fine Chemicals.
Anslow WP, Karnofsky DA, Jager BV, & Smith HW (1948) The intravenous, subcutaneous and cutaneous toxicity of bis((-chloroethyl) sulfide (mustard gas) and of various derivatives. Journal of Pharmacology and experimental Therapeutics, 93:1-9.
Black RM, Brewster K, Clarke RJ, Hambrook JL, Harrison JM, & Howells DJ (1993) Metabolism of thiodiglycol (2,2'-thiobis-ethanol): isolation and identification of urinary metabolites following intraperitoneal administration to rat. Xenobiotica, 23(5):473-481.
Black RM, Hambrook JL, Howells DJ, & Read RW (1992) Biological fate of sulfur mustard, 1,1'-thiobis(2-chloroethane). Urinary excretion profiles of hydrolysis products and (-lyase metabolites of sulfur mustard after cutaneous application in rats. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 16(2): 79-84.
Black RM & Read RW (1995) Biological fate of sulphur mustard, 1,1'-thiobis(2-chloroethane): identification of (-lyase metabolites and hydrolysis products in human urine. Xenobiotica, 25(2):167-173.
Budavari S ed. (1996) The Budavari 1996, 12th ed. Merck Research Laboratories, Division of Merck & Co., Inc. Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA.
Carpenter CP & Smyth HF (1946) Chemical burns of the rabbit cornea. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 29:1363-1372.
Davis DP, Bramwell KJ, Hamilton RS, & Williams SR (1997) Ethylene glycol poisoning: case report of a record-high level and a review. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 15(5):653-667.
Davison C, Rozman RS, & Smith PK (1961) Metabolism of bis-(-chloroethyl sulfide (sulfur mustard gas). Biochemical Pharmacology, 7:65-74.
Lee T, Pham MQ, Weigand WA, Harvey SP, & Bentley WE (1996) Bioreactor strategies for the treatment of growth-inhibitory waste: An analysis of thiodiglycol degradation, the main hydrolysis product of sulfur mustard. Biotechnology Progress, 12(4):533-539.
Lewis RJ (1996) Sax's dangerous properties of industrial materials, 9th ed. Van nostrand reinhold.
Roberts JJ & Warwick GP (1963) Studies of the mode of action of alkylating agents-VI the metabolism of bis-2-chloroethylsulphide (mustard gas) and related compounds. Biochemical Pharmacology, 12:1329-1334.
RTECS- Registry of toxic effects of chemical substances. Issue 98-2 (May, 1998)
Sigma (1998) Biochemicals and reagents for life science research. email: sigma@ibm.net
Smyth HF, Seaton J, & Fischer L (1941) The single dose toxicity of some glycols and derivatives. Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, 23(6):259-268.
Somani SM & Babu SR (1989) Toxicodynamics of sulfur mustard. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Therapy and Toxicology, 27(9):419-435.
Union carbide data sheet, 1971. 11:3. Sited in RTECS.
Wils ERJ, Hulst AG, de Jong AL, Verweij A, & Boter HL (1985) Analysis of thiodiglycol in urine of victims of an alleged attack with mustard gas. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 9(6):254-257.
Wils ERJ, Hulst AG, & van Laar L (1988) Analysis of thiodiglycol in urine of victims of an alleged attack with mustard gas, Part II. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 12(1):15-19.
Mette Groom Andersen Goodin
Department of Pharmacology
University of Otago
Dunedin, New Zealand
PEER REVIEWED GROUP
Ligia Fruchtengarten, Mahdi Balali-Mood, Wayne Temple, Nigel Langford
Edinburgh September 2001
See Also:
Toxicological Abbreviations
Thiodiglycol (ICSC)