Parameters for the Adsorption of Thallium Ions by Activated Charcoal and Prussian Blue

Abstract

Activated charcoal and Prussian blue are effective antidotes in acute thallium (Tl⁺) intoxication in rats. They act by trapping any metal present in or secreted into the gut by the gastro-intestinal epithelium. It was therefore of interest to determine the parameters of the Langmuir adsorption isotherms of Tl⁺ ions for these two adsorbents. The data from equilibration experiments were analyzed by direct least-squares fitting to a hyperbola and with Langmuir's equation to give the following results

Activated charcoal: [graphic]

Prussian Blue : [graphic]

These high values provide in vitro confirmation of their in - vivo antidotal efficacy and show that activated charcoal can replace Prussian blue when this latter drug is unobtainable.

Presented a the Joint Meeting o f the Asociación Mexicana de Farmacología, The Western Pharmacology Association and t h e Texan Pharmacologists, Puerto Vallarta, Jal., January 1983; abstract p. 35.