Sulphur compounds have similar physiological action. It is known that triphenylstibine sulphide, or sulphoform, (C6H5)3SbS, has a curative effect in skin diseases, as it liberates “nascent” sulphur on the skin. It is equally natural to expect some organic selenium compound which liberates finely divided selenium to exert a remedial influence on animal bodies. The selenoquinazolone prepared in the course of this research and described more fully in another section of the paper, has this prospect. The quinazolone has the following structure:
Experiments were carried on at L’Institut Pasteur in Paris under the supervision of M. Borel for the treatment of cancer in mice. No human subjects were experimented upon, although results were claimed by using selenides and their oxidized salts.
Selenium dyes were found to be medicinals, although no relation has yet been established between constitution of these organic dyes and their therapeutic value. Wassermann[(10)] made several eosin preparations, by coupling the sodium derivative with potassium selenocyanide. The red dyestuff thus prepared is stated to be easily soluble in water. Wassermann, Keysser and Wassermann[(11)] made experiments with it, chemotherapeutically, on animal tumors. When the solution was injected into mice tumors the latter turned red, accompanied by the softening of the tumor after the third injection and complete resorption after ten injections, unless the dose used was too great for the animal. In that case death often occurred. Good results were also reported, in connection with this experiment, on four different strains of mouse carcinoma and one strain of mouse sarcoma. In the latter case, relief was found sooner but the former disappeared more slowly. Another preparation was made later[(12)] and introduced into mice intravenously and again found to have good results.
The following is the structure of 2-selenocyanideanthraquinone—
which has also been reported to have medicinal uses[(13)].
P. Ehrlich and Hugo Bauer[(14)] synthesized from p.pʹ-diamino-diphenyl-methane the red dye 3,6-diaminoselenopyronine.
The dye has been used upon mice and caused pronounced edema. The toxicity of both the selenopyronine and the corresponding sulphur compound was compared under similar conditions in the same experiment, and it was found that the selenium dye was toxic in 1/3000 gram, but the sulphur dye was toxic in 1/2500 gram per twenty gram weight of the animal.