2,3-Dimercaptopropanesulfonate (DMPS) acts as a mercury chelator. It lowers renal mercury concentrations while elevating urinary mercury levels in both uninephrectomized and normal rats treated with mercuric chloride. In a mouse model of developmental toxicity induced by heavy metals, DMPS (administered at 180 or 360 mg/kg per day for four days) mitigates methylmercury chloride-induced increases in embryotoxicity and fetal and maternal mortality, while also preventing the reduction in fetal bone ossification when given to pregnant mice.