Chloral hydrate
Encyclopedia
Chloral hydrate is a sedative
and hypnotic
drug
as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral
(trichloroacetaldehyde) by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula
is C
2H
3Cl
3O
2.
It was discovered through the chlorination
of ethanol
in 1832 by Justus von Liebig
in Gießen
. Its sedative
properties were first published in 1869 and subsequently, because of its easy synthesis, its use was widespread. It was widely used recreationally
and misprescribed
in the late 19th century. Chloral hydrate is soluble in both water and alcohol
, readily forming concentrated solutions. A solution of chloral hydrate in alcohol
called "knockout drops" was used to prepare a Mickey Finn
. More reputable uses of chloral hydrate include its use as a clearing agent for chitin
and fibers and as a key ingredient in Hoyer's mounting medium, which is used to prepare permanent or semipermanent microscope slides of small organisms, histological sections, and chromosome squashes.
It is, together with chloroform
, a minor side-product of the chlorination
of water
when organic residues are present in the water, though concentrations rarely exceed 5 microgram
s per litre
(µg/L).
and ethanol
in acidic solution. In basic conditions the haloform reaction
takes place and chloroform
is produced.
, which is produced by the distillation of a mixture of chloral hydrate and sulfuric acid
, which serves as the desiccant
.
Notably, it is used to synthesize isatin
. In this synthesis, chloral hydrate reacts with aniline
and hydroxylamine
to give a condensation product which cyclicizes in sulfuric acid
to give the target compound:
and as a sedative before minor medical or dental treatment. It was largely displaced in the mid-20th century by barbiturate
s and subsequently by benzodiazepine
s. It was also formerly used in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic. Today, it is commonly used as an ingredient in the veterinary anesthetic Equithesin
. It is also still used as a sedative prior to EEG
procedures, as it is one of the few available sedatives that does not suppress epileptiform
discharges.
In therapeutic doses for insomnia chloral hydrate is effective within 60 minute
s, it is metabolized
within four minutes into trichloroethanol by erythrocytes and plasma esterases and many hours later into trichloroacetic acid
. Higher doses can depress respiration
and blood pressure
.
, vomiting
, confusion, convulsion
s, slow and irregular breathing, cardiac arrhythmia, and coma
. The plasma, serum or blood concentrations of chloral hydrate and/or trichloroethanol, its major active metabolite, may be measured to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients or to aid in the medicolegal investigation of fatalities. Accidental overdosage of young children undergoing simple dental or surgical procedures has occurred. Hemodialysis has been used successfully to accelerate clearance of the drug in poisoning victims.
, as chronic
use is known to cause dependency and withdrawal
symptoms. The chemical can potentiate various anticoagulant
s and is weakly mutagen
ic in vitro
and in vivo
.
in the United States
. Its properties have sometimes led to its use as a date rape drug
.
Chloral hydrate is also controlled substance in Canada under Schedule F of the Food and Drug Regulations.
Chloral hydrate is not a controlled substance in the United Kingdom.
). The major disadvantage of Hoyer's is its susceptibility to the effects of dehydration, which causes the mountant to crystallize and threatening the slide to become unusable. It is therefore absolutely necessary, after drying a mounted specimen, to thoroughly ring (2 layers are best) cover slips with a protective coating (e.g., insulating Glyptol), which prevents rehydration and mountant deterioration. Chloral hydrate reportedly does not effectively clear larger specimens, or arthropods that are more heavily sclerotized (e.g., larger insects). These should first be cleared with another product (e.g., 10% KOH
or NaOH), and then mounted in Hoyer's. Other disadvantages of Hoyer's (principally due to chloral hydrate) include toxicity (see above), and procurement problems due to chloral hydrate being a controlled substance.
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
and hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
drug
Approved drug
In the United States, the FDA approves drugs. Before a drug can be prescribed, it must undergo an extensive FDA approval process. This process involves first testing the drug on animals or in medical labs. If found to be safe by the FDA and approved for the next phase of study, the drug is then...
as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral
Chloral
Chloral, also known as trichloroacetaldehyde, is the organic compound with the formula Cl3CCHO. This aldehyde is a colourless oily liquid that is soluble in a wide range of solvents...
(trichloroacetaldehyde) by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
is C
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
2H
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
3Cl
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
3O
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
2.
It was discovered through the chlorination
Halogenation
Halogenation is a chemical reaction that incorporates a halogen atom into a molecule in substitution of hydrogen atom. Halogenation takes place in the gas phase. There are four types of halogenation: fluorination, chlorination, bromination, and iodination...
of ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
in 1832 by Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry. As a professor, he devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the...
in Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
. Its sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
properties were first published in 1869 and subsequently, because of its easy synthesis, its use was widespread. It was widely used recreationally
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
and misprescribed
Medical prescription
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....
in the late 19th century. Chloral hydrate is soluble in both water and alcohol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
, readily forming concentrated solutions. A solution of chloral hydrate in alcohol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
called "knockout drops" was used to prepare a Mickey Finn
Mickey Finn (drugs)
A Mickey Finn, is a slang term for a drink laced with a drug given to someone without his knowledge in order to incapacitate him...
. More reputable uses of chloral hydrate include its use as a clearing agent for chitin
Chitin
Chitin n is a long-chain polymer of a N-acetylglucosamine, a derivative of glucose, and is found in many places throughout the natural world...
and fibers and as a key ingredient in Hoyer's mounting medium, which is used to prepare permanent or semipermanent microscope slides of small organisms, histological sections, and chromosome squashes.
It is, together with chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
, a minor side-product of the chlorination
Chlorination
Chlorination is the process of adding the element chlorine to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water...
of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
when organic residues are present in the water, though concentrations rarely exceed 5 microgram
Microgram
In the metric system, a microgram is a unit of mass equal to one millionth of a gram , or 1/1000 of a milligram. It is one of the smallest units of mass commonly used...
s per litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
(µg/L).
Production
Chloral hydrate is produced from chlorineChlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
and ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
in acidic solution. In basic conditions the haloform reaction
Haloform reaction
The haloform reaction is a chemical reaction where a haloform is produced by the exhaustive halogenation of a methyl ketone in the presence of a base. R may be , alkyl or aryl...
takes place and chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
is produced.
- 4 Cl2 + C2H5OH + H2O → Cl3CCH(OH)2 + 5 HCl
Building block
Chloral hydrate is a starting point for the synthesis of more complex chemicals. It is the starting material for the production of chloralChloral
Chloral, also known as trichloroacetaldehyde, is the organic compound with the formula Cl3CCHO. This aldehyde is a colourless oily liquid that is soluble in a wide range of solvents...
, which is produced by the distillation of a mixture of chloral hydrate and sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
, which serves as the desiccant
Desiccant
A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately well-sealed container....
.
Notably, it is used to synthesize isatin
Isatin
Isatin or 1H-indole-2,3-dione is an indole derivative. The compound was first obtained by Erdman and Laurent in 1841 as a product from the oxidation of indigo dye by nitric acid and chromic acids...
. In this synthesis, chloral hydrate reacts with aniline
Aniline
Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Being a precursor to many industrial chemicals, its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane...
and hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine
Hydroxylamine is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2OH. The pure material is a white, unstable crystalline, hygroscopic compound. However, hydroxylamine is almost always provided and used as an aqueous solution. It is used to prepare oximes, an important functional group. It is also an...
to give a condensation product which cyclicizes in sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
to give the target compound:
Hypnotic
Chloral hydrate is used for the short-term treatment of insomniaInsomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
and as a sedative before minor medical or dental treatment. It was largely displaced in the mid-20th century by barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
s and subsequently by benzodiazepine
Benzodiazepine
A benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring...
s. It was also formerly used in veterinary medicine as a general anesthetic. Today, it is commonly used as an ingredient in the veterinary anesthetic Equithesin
Equithesin
Equithesin is the proprietary name for a commercial mixture of chloral hydrate, magnesium sulfate and pentobarbital sodium that was used as a general anesthetic in horses. Equithesin was administered intravenously to effect and for many years was the most commonly used injectable anesthetic in...
. It is also still used as a sedative prior to EEG
Electroencephalography
Electroencephalography is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain...
procedures, as it is one of the few available sedatives that does not suppress epileptiform
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
discharges.
In therapeutic doses for insomnia chloral hydrate is effective within 60 minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s, it is metabolized
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
within four minutes into trichloroethanol by erythrocytes and plasma esterases and many hours later into trichloroacetic acid
Trichloroacetic acid
Trichloroacetic acid is an analogue of acetic acid in which the three hydrogen atoms of the methyl group have all been replaced by chlorine atoms....
. Higher doses can depress respiration
Respiration (physiology)
'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
and blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
.
Adverse effects
Long-term use of chloral hydrate is associated with a rapid development of tolerance to its effects and possible addiction as well as adverse effects including rashes, gastric discomfort and severe renal, cardiac and hepatic failure.Overdosage
Acute overdosage is often characterized by nauseaNausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
, vomiting
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
, confusion, convulsion
Convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in an uncontrolled shaking of the body. Because a convulsion is often a symptom of an epileptic seizure, the term convulsion is sometimes used as a synonym for seizure...
s, slow and irregular breathing, cardiac arrhythmia, and coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. The plasma, serum or blood concentrations of chloral hydrate and/or trichloroethanol, its major active metabolite, may be measured to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients or to aid in the medicolegal investigation of fatalities. Accidental overdosage of young children undergoing simple dental or surgical procedures has occurred. Hemodialysis has been used successfully to accelerate clearance of the drug in poisoning victims.
Pharmacology
Chloral hydrate exerts its pharmacological properties via enhancing the GABA receptor complex. It is moderately addictiveSubstance use disorder
Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder"....
, as chronic
Chronic (medicine)
A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.In medicine, the...
use is known to cause dependency and withdrawal
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...
symptoms. The chemical can potentiate various anticoagulant
Anticoagulant
An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation of blood. A group of pharmaceuticals called anticoagulants can be used in vivo as a medication for thrombotic disorders. Some anticoagulants are used in medical equipment, such as test tubes, blood transfusion bags, and renal dialysis...
s and is weakly mutagen
Mutagen
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material, usually DNA, of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations cause cancer, mutagens are therefore also likely to be carcinogens...
ic in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
and in vivo
In vivo
In vivo is experimentation using a whole, living organism as opposed to a partial or dead organism, or an in vitro controlled environment. Animal testing and clinical trials are two forms of in vivo research...
.
Legal status
Chloral hydrate is illegal in the United States without a prescription. Chloral hydrate is a schedule IV controlled substanceControlled substance
A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by a government. This may include illegal drugs and prescription medications ....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its properties have sometimes led to its use as a date rape drug
Date rape drug
A date rape drug is any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of a sexual assault, such as date rape. Drugs used to facilitate rape may have sedative, hypnotic, dissociative, and/or amnesiac effects, and can be added to a food or drink without the victim's knowledge.The act of adding...
.
Chloral hydrate is also controlled substance in Canada under Schedule F of the Food and Drug Regulations.
Chloral hydrate is not a controlled substance in the United Kingdom.
Hoyer's mounting medium
Chloral hydrate is also an ingredient used for Hoyer's solution, a mounting medium for microscopic observation of diverse organisms such as bryophytes, ferns, seeds, and small arthropods (especially mites). One recipe for making Hoyer's is dissolving gum arabic (30.0 g) in water (50.0 mL), then adding chloral hydrate (200.0 g), and then finally adding glycerol (16.0 mL). An advantage of this medium include an excellent refraction index and clearing (macerating) properties of the small specimens (especially advantageous if specimens require observation with differential interference contrast microscopyDifferential interference contrast microscopy
Differential interference contrast microscopy , also known as Nomarski Interference Contrast or Nomarski microscopy, is an optical microscopy illumination technique used to enhance the contrast in unstained, transparent samples...
). The major disadvantage of Hoyer's is its susceptibility to the effects of dehydration, which causes the mountant to crystallize and threatening the slide to become unusable. It is therefore absolutely necessary, after drying a mounted specimen, to thoroughly ring (2 layers are best) cover slips with a protective coating (e.g., insulating Glyptol), which prevents rehydration and mountant deterioration. Chloral hydrate reportedly does not effectively clear larger specimens, or arthropods that are more heavily sclerotized (e.g., larger insects). These should first be cleared with another product (e.g., 10% KOH
Potassium hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula KOH, commonly called caustic potash.Along with sodium hydroxide , this colorless solid is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications. Most applications exploit its reactivity toward acids and its corrosive...
or NaOH), and then mounted in Hoyer's. Other disadvantages of Hoyer's (principally due to chloral hydrate) include toxicity (see above), and procurement problems due to chloral hydrate being a controlled substance.
See also
- The JonestownJonestownJonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
Massacre, which involved the communal drinking of Flavor AidFlavor AidFlavor Aid is a non-carbonated soft drink beverage made by Jel Sert in West Chicago, Illinois, introduced in 1929. It is sold throughout the United States as an unsweetened powdered concentrate drink mix, similar to Kool-Aid drink mix.-Flavors:...
poisoned with ValiumDiazepamDiazepam , first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche is a benzodiazepine drug. Diazepam is also marketed in Australia as Antenex. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures including status epilepticus, muscle spasms , restless legs syndrome, alcohol withdrawal,...
, chloral hydrate, cyanidePotassium cyanidePotassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
, and Phenergan. - Richard RealfRichard RealfRichard Realf was a poet who lived in many places throughout the United States, and whose work was informed by these travels.-Early success:...
(1832–1878) killed himself with a combination of chloral hydrate and laudanumLaudanumLaudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
. - Jennie BosschieterJennie BosschieterJennie Bosschieter was murdered in Paterson, New Jersey on October 19, 1900. -Biography:Jennie was the daughter of Dina Bosschieter from The Netherlands. She lived with her parents at 155 East Fifth Street in the Riverside section, and worked at the Paterson Ribbon Company on Vreeland Avenue...
(1882–1900) who was murdered with chloral hydrate in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New JerseyPaterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
on 12 October 1900. - John TyndallJohn TyndallJohn Tyndall FRS was a prominent Irish 19th century physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he studied thermal radiation, and produced a number of discoveries about processes in the atmosphere...
(1820–1893) who died of an accidental overdose. - Anna Nicole SmithAnna Nicole SmithIn 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
(1967–2007) who died of an accidental combination of chloral hydrate with three benzodiazepineBenzodiazepineA benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring...
s, as announced by forensic pathologist Dr. Joshua PerperJoshua PerperDr. Joshua Perper is a forensic pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner in Broward County in the United States who has gained both national and international notice for his work on several high profile autopsies.-Professional:Perper was born in Bacău, Romania and he escaped the Nazis during World...
on 26 March 2007. Chloral hydrate was the major factor, but none of these drugs would have been sufficient by itself to cause her death. - Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
had chloral hydrate in her system at her death. - Hank Williams came under the spell of a man calling himself "Doctor" Toby Marshall (actually a paroled forger), who often supplied him with prescriptions and injections of chloral hydrate, which Marshall claimed was a pain reliever, to deal with the pain from Williams' life-long severe back problems.
- William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
was expelled from school for experimenting with chloral hydrate along with another pupil. The incident is detailed in the writer's foreword to JunkieJunkie (novel)Junkie is a 1953 semi-autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs. It was his first published novel and has come to be considered a seminal text on the lifestyle of heroin addicts in the early 1950s. Burroughs' working title was Junk.-Inspiration:The novel was considered unpublishable more than...
. - Mary Todd LincolnMary Todd LincolnMary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
was given chloral hydrate for sleep problems. See Mary Todd Lincoln by Jean Baker and Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln, by Janis Cooke Newman. - André GideAndré GideAndré Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
(1869–1951) was given chloral hydrate as a boy for sleep problems by a Doctor named Lizart. Gide states in his autobiography, If It Die... that "all my later weaknesses of will or memory I attribute to him." - House of Mirth (published in 1905), a novel whose heroine, Lily Bart, dies of an overdose of chloral hydrate.
- Dante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
(1830–1882), the English painter, was a regular user of chloral hydrate, originally against insomnia. He is quoted as saying to his friend Hall CaineHall CaineSir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE , usually known as Hall Caine, was a Manx author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular, and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his...
: "Everyone has skeletons in their cupboards, and this is mine." - James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
says, "that's...chloral hydrate" in the movie The Living DaylightsThe Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
before collapsing from its effects. - In the movie From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (film)From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
, Tatiana Romanava is knocked out by chloral hydrate, which SPECTRE agent Red Grant slips in her drink. - Chloral BetaineChloral BetaineChloral betaine is a sleeping tablet or sedative which the body converts to chloral hydrate. Like other drugs of this type chloral betaine is addictive, a small proportion of users who take the drug develop serious or unpleasant side effects.-References:**...
, a related drug - Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
regularly used chloral hydrate in the years leading up to his nervous breakdown, according to Lou Salome and other associates. Whether the drug contributed to his insanity is a point of controversy. See "The Madness of Nietzsche" by E.F. Podach. - Antonin ArtaudAntonin ArtaudAntoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
possibly committed suicide with chloral hydrate after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was found seated on his bed, allegedly holding his left shoe.