A hypothesis for the selection of chelate antidotes for toxic metals

The problem of finding antidotes for toxic metal species for which antidotes have not been previously reported can be approached via a consideration of the metal-ion preferences of chelating agents already in clinical use. The metal ion preferences of six types of chelating agents together with information on antidotes used for other elements in the same family in the periodic table can be used to obtain a preliminary notion of which of these six structural types might furnish efficacious antidotes. The results of animal tests on a few of these chelate types can then serve as a guide in the selection of further compounds for testing. The data from the literature on antidotes for 20 toxic metal ions is summarized to assist the selection process.