Mercury binding to the chelation therapy agents DMSA and DMPS and the rational design of custom chelators for mercury

This study investigates the efficacy of two commonly used chelation therapy agents, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonic acid (DMPS), in binding mercuric ions (Hg²⁺). Using mercury L(III)-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, researchers found that neither DMSA nor DMPS forms true chelate complexes with Hg²⁺, which may