Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CHCHOCSK. It is a pale yellow powder that is used in the mining industry for the separation of ores. Unlike the related sodium ethyl xanthate, the potassium salt exists as an anhydrous salt. Xanthate salts are prepared by the action of alkoxides on carbon disulfide. The alkoxide is often generated in situ from potassium hydroxide: Potassium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder that is stable at high pH but rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25 °C. Unlike the sodium derivative, potassium xanthate crystallizes
Ethyl methanesulfonate Ethyl methanesulfonate Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) is a mutagenic, teratogenic, and possibly carcinogenic organic compound with formula CHSO. It produces random mutations in genetic material by nucleotide substitution; particularly by guanine alkylation. This typically produces only point mutations. It can induce mutations at a rate of 5x10 to 5x10 per gene without substantial killing. The ethyl group of EMS reacts with guanine in DNA, forming the abnormal base "O"-ethylguanine. During DNA replication, DNA polymerases that catalyze the process frequently place thymine, instead of cytosine, opposite "O"-ethylguanine. Following subsequent rounds of replication, the original G:C base pair can become an A:T pair