What is potassium cyanide?

Once used by the Nazis in World War II in various forms, Potassium cyanide was a terror to millions of Europeans at the time.

What is potassium cyanide compound?

Used in jewelry industry, people use potassium cyanide to plating or polishing by chemical methods. Potassium cyanide is also sometimes used in the gold mining industry to separate gold from gold ores. Until the 1970s, this compound was also used in rat poison.

Potassium cyanide was first discovered in 1704 creating Berlin, Germany in the experiments of the German physician Johann Conrad Dippel. He mixed dry blood mix with Potassium and Ion Sulfate to produce a dark blue mixture called 'Berlin blue'.

Potassium cyanide or potassium cyanide is the name of a colorless chemical compound of potassium with the formula KCN.

In 1782, a Swedish scientist heated the compound with dilute sulfuric acid. He found a newly formed acid called hydrogen cyanide acid (a compound of cyanide) . This acid is highly soluble in water.

Today, scientists have a lot of research as well as a deeper understanding of the characteristics and properties of cyanide and their compounds, especially the poisonous potassium cyanide.

Potassium cyanide - Invisible and cruel killer

According to Assoc.Prof. Dr. Tran Hong Con (Department of Chemistry, University of Science, VNU) Potassium cyanide or potassium cyanide is the name of a colorless chemical compound of potassium with the formula of Industrial Park. It smells like almonds , has a sugar-like appearance and is highly soluble in water.

Potassium cyanide smells like almonds.

As classified in European Union Directive 67/548 / EEC, it is extremely toxic (T +), which can kill people in low doses. However, as one of the very few substances capable of producing gold (Au) soluble compounds in water, it is used in the jewelry industry for plating or polishing by chemical methods. It is also sometimes used in the gold mining industry to separate gold from gold ore.

Because it is a colorless substance and smells like almonds, just by eating 200 to 250 mg of this poison, a healthy person can lose consciousness within 30 seconds to 2 minutes. After about 1 hour, you will go into a coma and you can die after about 3 hours without prompt treatment.

Just 0.15 to 0.2 g of cyanide toxin can kill a healthy person. People who eat, drink or breathe in the poison often have symptoms such as: dizziness, headache, vomiting, anxiety, fear, cold hands and feet, convulsions, coma . leading to death.

The mechanism of toxicity of potassium cyanide

Humans often poison cyanide in three main ways:

1. Gastrointestinal tract through food and drink.
2. Inhalation because cyanide acids can evaporate.
3. Cyanide can eventually penetrate through the skin.

Like other cyanide compounds, potassium cyanide is toxic by blocking the metabolism of cells . Potassium cyanide has the ability to make chemical bonds with heme in the blood (such as hemoglobin), causing cells to fail to get oxygen and be destroyed.

When poisoned with potassium cyanide, the poisoned person often presents with symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, convulsions and can completely die soon after if the potassium cyanide concentration is greater than 1mg / l.

It is estimated that when poisoned with large amounts of potassium cyanide, the brain and heart will be severely damaged before leading to death. And yet, scientists say a single 500g jar of potassium cyanide can be enough to kill 2,500 healthy people if accidentally poisoned.

How to give first aid when poisoning with cyanide?

According to Wikipedia, when suffering from potassium cyanide poisoning, first aid should be rescued by breathing oxygen . In workshops where potassium cyanide is used, emergency kits are often available in case of toxicity, including amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, methylene blue and sodium thiosulfate.

Glucose has the potential to significantly slow down the toxic process of potassium cyanide, while protecting cells by creating chemical bonds with potassium cyanide. However, it is important to remember that glucose is not able to detox when poisoned with cyanide.

Assoc.Prof. Pham Due Due (Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital) noted that, when cyanide poisoning is caused, people cannot handle it themselves but have to hurry to the medical facility for intensive treatment and use antidote. When going to the emergency room, place the patient on their side safely (with the lower half lying on their stomach, the side tilted to the side) when the patient has seizures. Do not allow the patient to fall. Do not use hard objects to insert the victim's mouth into convulsions, but should be replaced with a soft object such as a towel .