Photo/Illutration An aqueous solution, right, that contains a chemical compound being developed to treat fire-derived gas poisoning by a team of scientists from Doshisha University and elsewhere, and its constituents are shown in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward. (Tomoyuki Suzuki)

A team of researchers has produced a chemical compound that is being touted to save the lives of victims of gas poisoning in the event of a fire. 

Developed by scientists from Doshisha University and elsewhere, the compound’s immediate effectiveness and safety were confirmed through testing on mice. 

“It is anticipated that it will provide a safe solution with no adverse effects,” said Hiroaki Kitagishi, an organic chemistry professor at the university’s Faculty of Science and Engineering. “We want to save as many patients as possible as there is a spate of flame-derived gas poisoning deaths reported all over the world.”

As those killed by noxious gases are reported to account for 40 percent of all fatalities in blazes within buildings, emergency workers voice high hopes for the substance’s clinical applications.

Kitagishi discovered a tiny amount of carbon monoxide discharged into urine when he administered artificial hemoglobin to an animal. The artificial hemoglobin was being developed to substitute for blood.

Based on the finding, Kitagishi and his colleagues worked out a chemical to remove carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, major causes of gas poisoning in blazes.

The compound’s antitoxic effects against carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide were confirmed by administering it to mice that inhaled carbon monoxide or were given a substance orally to generate hydrogen cyanide in their bodies.

To replicate the conditions of an actual fire, acrylic cloth was burned to produce smoke containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. The compound was administered to mice that inhaled the smoke and became unable to move.

Eleven of the 13 chemical-treated mice survived, whereas all 18 mice that were not given the compound died.

The surviving mice saw their blood pressure levels return to normal several minutes following its administration. No problems with consciousness and behavior were identified afterward. The administered compound was excreted into the urine in two hours.

Under a conventional method known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is used for those stricken by fire-caused gas poisoning, patients need to be transported to a hospital. However, only a limited number of medical centers have equipment to provide that kind of treatment.

The newly developed compound can reportedly be stored in powder or solution form for long periods, rendering it possible to be administered at fire scenes and in ambulances.

Takahiro Ueda, a medicine professor at Tottori University Hospital’s advanced emergency and critical care medical center, expressed his hopes for the immediate effectivity of the team’s brainchild.

“We will be offering cooperation on a grand scale when it moves into the clinical studies phase,” said Ueda.

Ueda is famed for having treated burn patient Shinji Aoba, who has been accused of murder and other crimes over a 2019 arson attack at a Kyoto Animation Co. studio. The attack left 36 people dead and 32 others injured after gasoline was set on fire.

The researchers’ findings were published on Feb. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the official journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, at (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209924120).

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