Re: Having doubts about chelation (Correction: OSR is available in the US)

Most of the links in that post appear to be dead. I don't think it is still available

Interesting writeup on the chemical in Wikipedia. It definitely does seem to chelate mercury, however allegedly it only does it under extremely acidic or extremely alkaline conditions, so I'm not sure how it's going to perform in the human body?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDTH2


Like most thiols, BDTH2 binds to mercury salts to form thiolate complexes. In principle, it could be used to remove mercury from water for industrial applications under a wide range of conditions, including the high pH and cyanide of the effluent from gold mining. In industrial use, BDTH2 is easy to make, does not form disulfides, and can be used either as-is or in the form of sodium or potassium salts that are more soluble in water.[1]

BDTH2 binds to mercury with a strong, nonpolar covalent bond within a water-insoluble organic framework. The resulting BDT–Hg precipitate is stable, and leaches mercury only under highly acidic or basic conditions. BDTH2 also binds to other elements, including arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and selenium.[1] It is effective and economical for removing small traces of mercury from polluted soil, as the precipitate is inert and can be left in the soil after treatment.[3]
Dietary supplement and controversy

Despite the fact that chelation therapy has not been shown to have a beneficial effect,[4] BDTH2 had been marketed under the name OSR#1 as a dietary supplement for treatment of autism.[2] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that BDTH2 is a drug rather than a supplement and issued a warning,[5][6] resulting in its removal from the market.[7] The main proponent of the compound, Dr. Boyd Haley, was chairman of the department of chemistry where research is also conducted on the utility of this compound for remediation of heavy metal pollution.[2][1] Tweet