Prof. Hiroaki Kitagishi, Faculty of Science and Engineering, and his collaborators, Dr. Qiyue Mao from Doshisha University, Dr. Xuansu Zhao from the Building Research Institute, Japan, Dr. Akiko Kiriyama from Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts, Japan, and Dr. Roberto Motterlini from University Paris Est Creteil, France, developed "hemoCD-Twins," the first effective therapeutic compound to overcome simultaneous carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide poisoning.
Building fires produce highly toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Exposure to these toxins can be fatal. Unfortunately, therapeutic antidotes against simultaneous CO and HCN poisoning are lacking. Prof. Kitagishi's team invented a synthetic heme-model compound, "hemoCD-Twins," which is an emergency antidote for CO and HCN mixed gas poisoning. This compound shows an immediate antidotal effect, an 85% survival rate and rapid recovery, in a mouse model.