1-(4-Chlorophenyl)silatrane is an extremely toxic

organosilicon Organosilicon chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds containing carbon–silicon bonds, to which they are called organosilicon compounds. Most organosilicon compounds are similar to the ordinary organic compounds, being colourless, f ...

compound which was developed by M&T Chemicals as a single-dose

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Some rodenticides ...

. It was never registered as rodenticide, except for experimental use. 1-(4-Chlorophenyl)silatrane was one of the chemicals studied in the

Project Coast Project Coast was a top-secret chemical and biological weapons (CBW) programme instituted by the apartheid-era government of South Africa in the 1980s. Project Coast was the successor to a limited postwar CBW programme, which mainly produced the ...

Toxicity

1-(4-Chlorophenyl)silatrane is a GABA receptor antagonist and it destroys nervous functions in the central nervous system of vertebrates, primarily in the brain and possibly in the brain stem. It's a rapid acting

convulsant A convulsant is a drug which induces convulsions or epileptic seizures, the opposite of an anticonvulsant. These drugs generally act as stimulants at low doses, but are not used for this purpose due to poor therapeutic indices. Most convulsant ...

, causing convulsions within 1 minute in mice and rats. Death occurred within 5 minutes. It is therefore likely to induce poison shyness. In field trials, it was less effective than zinc phosphide against wild rats.

References

{{GABA receptor modulators Convulsants Organosilicon compounds Nitrogen heterocycles Oxygen heterocycles Neurotoxins Rodenticides Chemical weapons GABAA receptor negative allosteric modulators Poisons 4-Chlorophenyl compounds Atranes Silicon heterocycles

Toxicity

See also

References