Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine is an organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

 that is used as a rodenticide (rat poison). It is an odorless, tasteless white powder that is slightly soluble in water, DMSO

Dimethyl sulfoxide

Dimethyl sulfoxide is an organosulfur compound with the formula 2SO. This colorless liquid is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as water...

 and acetone

Acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...

, and insoluble in methanol

Methanol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...

 and ethanol

Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

. It is a sulfamide

Sulfamide

Sulfamide is a chemical compound with the molecular structure H2NSO2NH2. Sulfamide is produced by the reaction of sulfuryl chloride with ammonia.-Sulfamide functional group.:...

 derivative. When crystallized from acetone, it forms cubic crystals with a melting point of 255-260 °C.

Toxicity and mechanism

TETS is a neurotoxin

Neurotoxin

A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...

, causing lethal convulsion

Convulsion

A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...

s. Its effect is similar to picrotoxin

Picrotoxin

Picrotoxin, also known as cocculin, is a poisonous crystalline plant compound, first isolated by Pierre Boullay in 1812. The name "picrotoxin" is a combination of the Greek words "picros" and "toxicon" ....

, another cage convulsant. As one of the most hazardous pesticides, it is 100x more toxic than potassium cyanide

Potassium cyanide

Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...

. It might be a more powerful convulsant than strychnine

Strychnine

Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...

. It is a non-competitive GABA

Gabâ

Gabâ or gabaa, for the people in many parts of the Philippines), is the concept of a non-human and non-divine, imminent retribution. A sort of negative karma, it is generally seen as an evil effect on a person because of their wrongdoings or transgressions...

 antagonist

Receptor antagonist

A receptor antagonist is a type of receptor ligand or drug that does not provoke a biological response itself upon binding to a receptor, but blocks or dampens agonist-mediated responses...

 and binds irreversibly to neuronal GABA receptors and disables chloride channel

Chloride channel

Chloride channels are a superfamily of poorly understood ion channels consisting of approximately 13 members.Chloride channels display a variety of important physiological and cellular roles that include regulation of pH, volume homeostasis, organic solute transport, cell migration, cell...

s, activating neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s. No antidote is known. Lethal dose for humans are 7-10 milligrams. Poisoning is diagnosed by gas chromatography and the treatment is mainly supportive, with large doses of benzodiazepine

Benzodiazepine

A benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring...

s and pyridoxine

Pyridoxine

Pyridoxine is one of the compounds that can be called vitamin B6, along with pyridoxal and pyridoxamine. It differs from pyridoxamine by the substituent at the '4' position. It is often used as 'pyridoxine hydrochloride'.-Chemistry:...

. It is retained in tissues of poisoned poultry and animals, posing a risk of secondary poisoning

Secondary poisoning

Secondary poisoning is poisoning that can result when one organism comes into contact with or ingests another organism that has poison in its system. It typically occurs when a predator eats an animal, such as a mouse, rat, or insect, that has previously been poisoned by a commercial pesticide...

.

Continued use in China

Its use worldwide has been banned since 1984, but due to continuing demand and its ease of production, it is still readily, although illegally, available in China and can be found in some illegally imported rat poisons. The best known Chinese rodenticide, containing about 6-20% TETS, is Dushuqiang, "very strong rat poison". It has been used for mass poisonings in China: in April 2004, there were 74 casualties after eating scallion-flavored pancakes tainted by their vendor's competitor; and in September 2002, 400 people were poisoned and 38 died from contaminated food. In 2002, there was one documented case of accidental poisoning in the US.