1.

What is cyanide
-a salt or ester of hydrocyanic acid, containing the anion CN or the group CN. The salts are
generally extremely toxic.
-sodium or potassium cyanide used as a poison or in the extraction of gold and silver.
Cyanide is a fast-acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist as both a gas and as a
crystalline salt. Both forms can be lethal in high enough concentrations. Some people can
detect the distinctive 'bitter almond' smell of cyanide, though this is not a reliable indicator as it
doesn't always give it off, and not everyone can detect it.
Cyanide is found abundantly in nature as well as in man-made materials. Examples include the
seeds of apples and peaches, as well as cigarette smoke and extermination materials for pests.
It's also present in the air when a building is burning down, usually because plastic things which contain cyanide - are burning. Cyanide kills by depriving the body of oxygen.
2.Mode of action of cyanide
Cyanide has a high affinity for certain sulfur compounds (sulfanes, which contain two covalently
bonded but unequally charged sulfur atoms) and for certain metallic complexes, particularly
those containing cobalt and the trivalent form of iron (Fe3+). The cyanide ion can rapidly combine
with iron in cytochrome a3 (a component of the cytochrome aa3 or cytochrome oxidase complex
in mitochrondria) to inhibit this enzyme, thus preventing intracellular oxygen utilization. The cell
then utilizes anaerobic metabolism, creating excess lactic acid and a metabolic acidosis.
Cyanide also has a high affinity for the ferric iron of methemoglobin and one therapeutic
strategem induces the formation of methemoglobin to which cyanide preferentially binds.
The small quantity of cyanide always present in human tissues is metabolized at the
approximate rate of 17 Fg/kg"min, primarily by the hepatic enzyme rhodanese, which catalyzes
the irreversible reaction of cyanide and a sulfane to produce thiocyanate, a relatively nontoxic
compound excreted in the urine. (An elevated concentration of thiocyanate in either blood or
urine is evidence of cyanide exposure.) The limiting factor under normal conditions is the
availability of a sulfane as a substrate for rhodanese, and sulfur is administered therapeutically
as sodium thiosulfate to accelerate this reaction. Because of the ability of the body to detoxify
small amounts of cyanide via the rhodanese-catalyzed reaction with sulfane, the lethal dose of
cyanide is time dependent; that is, a given amount of cyanide absorbed slowly may cause no
biological effects even though the same amount administered over a very short period of time
may be lethal. In contrast, the LCt50 of each of the other chemical agents, which are not
metabolized to the same extent as is cyanide, is relatively constant over time, and a lethal
amount causes death whether administered within minutes or over hours.
Cyanide has a high affinity for metals like cobalt and trivalent iron, and for sulfane compounds
such as sodium thiosulfate which contains a sulfur-to-sulfur bond. In large doses, cyanide
quickly binds with iron in cytochrome a3, preventing electron transport in the cytochrome. This
stops oxidative phosphorylation and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. As a result,
intracellular oxygen utilization ceases. Cells are then forced into anaerobic metabolism, creating
lactic acid and leading to acid-base imbalances and metabolic acidosis.

In small doses, cyanide can be metabolized into thiocyanate with the assistance of the hepatic
enzyme, rhodanese. Thiocyanate is then excreted in urine. A small amount of cyanide can also
be converted to carbon dioxide which leaves the body through exhalation. Some cyanide can
react with hydroxycobalamin to form vitamin B12. Most cyanide leaves the body within one day.
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-cyanide-definition-formula-effects.html
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/emergency/chemical_terrorism/cyanide_tech.htm
http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/army/mmcch/Cyanide.htm