Dimethylmercury

Dimethylmercury is an organomercury compound with two methyl groups bonded to mercury, formula (CH₃)₂Hg. It is volatile and acutely toxic, and can be absorbed through some protective materials.

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Organomercury chemistry: The chemistry of compounds containing carbon–mercury bonds. Dimethylmercury is a volatile member of this broad chemical family.
Karen Wetterhahn: An American chemist whose fatal dimethylmercury exposure led to major laboratory safety changes. Her 1997 exposure showed that routine handling could result in delayed fatal poisoning.
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: A technique that uses nuclear magnetic resonance to determine molecular structure and chemical environments. Dimethylmercury has been used as a chemical-shift reference in mercury-199 NMR.
Elemental mercury: The metallic form of mercury, consisting of Hg atoms rather than carbon–mercury compounds. Its exposure pathways and biological behavior differ from those of dimethylmercury.
Methylmercury: A toxic organomercury species in which mercury is bonded to a methyl group. Metabolism can convert dimethylmercury into methylmercury, a potent neurotoxic form.
Dartmouth College: A private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, founded in 1769. Wetterhahn was a chemistry professor there when the fatal exposure occurred.
Chemical shift: The frequency displacement of a nuclear magnetic resonance signal relative to a reference. Its mercury-199 signal historically served as a reference point for chemical shifts.
Mercury(II) chloride: An inorganic mercury salt with formula HgCl₂, also called mercuric chloride. This water-soluble inorganic compound contrasts with volatile, carbon-bonded dimethylmercury.
Blood–brain barrier: A selective interface that regulates movement of substances from blood into the brain. Methylmercury formed from dimethylmercury can cross this protective interface.
Laboratory safety: Practices and systems that reduce hazards in scientific laboratories. The incident prompted stricter controls for handling highly toxic chemicals.