Chemotherapy of Certain Iodonium and Sulfonium Compounds. ∗

Abstract

Conclusions

It may be suggested, tentatively, that the activity of iodonium compounds may, in some cases, be due to interaction with certain mercapto groups essential to the microorganisms. This formulation rests largely on observations of the high reactivity of iodonium compounds toward sulfide, hydrosulfide and similar ions in simple chemical systems. That the detail of the mechanism of inhibition is different for Cl. Histolyticum and M. tuberculosis is apparent from the experiments involving thioglycollate. In the case of M. tuberculosis we have not found a mercapto compound which antagonizes the effect of the iodonium compounds. That both sulfonium and iodonium compounds inhibit Monilia, while the iodonium compounds alone inhibit the growth of tubercle bacilli, suggest that a similar mechanism of action may be involved with both compounds for Monilia, but not in the case of M. tuberculosis.