Date of Award
1996
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Chemistry Dept.
Advisor(s)
Wayne Smith
Second Advisor
Bradford Mundy
Third Advisor
Tom Poon
Abstract
The drug sodium pentacyanonitrosylferrate(2-)dihydrate, more commonly known as nitroprusside or nipride (Fig. 1), is a common vasodilating agent given clinically to patients with hypertension.12.22 Nitroprusside is effective in emergency rooms as it quickly reduces high blood pressure, but dosages are limited because of fear that cyanide could be released also. Nitroprusside is effective because the vasodilating agent nitric oxide, NO, is released. Nitric oxide is also recognized as an important biochemical messenger molecule.22 Our research involves a search for different species that could introduce nitric oxide into the body without cyanide. Transition metal complexes involving ruthenium, iron, and cobalt that coordinate with neutral polypyridyl ligands like 2,2-bipyridyl (Fig. 3) and 2,2':6,2"terpyridine (Fig. 4) would leave the final sixth site available for the nitric oxide moiety (Fig. 2, Fig. 5).
Keywords
Hypotensive agents, Sodium nitroferricyanide
Recommended Citation
McCullough, Timothy Casey, "Alternatives to nitroprusside as hypotensive agents" (1996). Honors Theses. Paper 157.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/157
Copyright
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