Phenylmercury acetate

Properties

Phenylmercuric acetate forms colorless, lustrous crystals, and is soluble in ethanol, benzene, acetic acid, and sparingly in water.

Applications

Phenylmercuric acetate has been used as a preservative in eyedrops and paint, disinfectant, former fungicide in agriculture, and a potential fungicide in leather processing. It kills crabgrass, the seedlings of which are especially vulnerable, but leaves most lawn grasses intact. It exhibits anti-fungal activity against a broad range of ocular pathogenic fungi, with the greatest activity against Fusarium sporotrichioides, and has been investigated as a potential treatment for keratomycosis.

Phenylmercuric acetate was used for disinfecting mucous membranes, but due to toxicological and ecotoxicological reasons, is no longer used. Phenylmercuric acetate was used as a catalyst during commercial 3M Tartan brand polyurethane flexible floor manufacture. That flooring became popular for public buildings, especially school gymnasia, in the 1950s through the 1970s; and traces of the catalyst remained detectable in Idaho public schools as late as 2006.

Hazards

Contact with phenylmercuric acetate can cause allergic reactions., such as erythema and contact urticaria syndrome. IgE plays a crucial role in contact urticaria syndrome pathogenesis.

A rare side effect of phenylmercuric acetate in eye drops is mercurialentis, the buildup of pigment on the anterior capsule of the lens. This has been estimated to affect 18 of 500 patients who have used eye drops containing phenylmercuric acetate two to four times a day for more than six years. The pigmentation is not associated with visual impairment nor any ocular abnormalities.

References

References

1. (2006). "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry".
2. (2005). "Patch testing with phenylmercuric acetate". Contact Dermatitis.
3. (2012). "In vitro activity of phenylmercuric acetate against ocular pathogenic fungi". [[Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy]].
4. Sunset Western Garden Book (1954), p.69
5. (2009). "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry".
6. (2008). "Phenyl Mercuric Acetate (PMA): Mercury-Bearing Flexible Gymnasium Floors in Schools — Evaluation of Hazards and Controlled Abatement". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.
7. (1975). "Contact Urticaria Syndrome: Contact Urticaria to Diethyltoluamide (Immediate-Type Hypersensitivity)". Archives of Dermatology.
8. (1993). "Contact urticaria syndrome due to phyenylmercuric acetate". Contact Dermatitis.