Among the Weapons of Mass Destruction, chemical warfare (CW) is probably one of the most brutal created by mankind in comparison with biological and nuclear warfare. Chemical weapons are inexpensive and are relatively easy to produce, even by small terrorist groups, to create mass casualties with small quantities. The characteristics of various CW agents, general information relevant to current physical as well as medical protection methods, detection equipment available and decontamination techniques are discussed in this review article. A brief note on Chemical Weapons Convention is also provided.

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Sulfur mustard (SM) is a highly toxic chemical warfare agent. A satisfactory treatment regimen is not yet available for this toxicant. In a search for an effective antidote against SM, a series of novel S-2(omega-aminoalkylamino)ethyl alkyl/aryl thioethers [H(2)N(CH(2))(n)()NHCH(2)CH(2)SR], where R = alky, alicyclic, aryl, and heterocyclic substituents, have been designed and synthesized as candidate antidotes against SM toxicity. These compounds were screened for their protective efficacy through the oral route against dermally applied sulfur mustard in female mice measured on the basis of percent survival following percutaneous administration of SM. A number of compounds demonstrated significant protection.

Delayed neurotoxicity of sarin in mice after repeated inhalation exposure has been studied. Female mice exposed to atmospheric sarin (5 mg m-3 for 20 min) daily for 10 days developed muscular weakness of the limbs and slight ataxia on the 14th day after the start of the exposure. These changes were accompanied by significant inhibition of neurotoxic esterase (NTE) activity in the brain, spinal cord and platelets. Histopathology of the spinal cord of exposed animals showed focal axonal degeneration. These changes were comparatively less than in animals treated with the neurotoxic organophosphate, mipafox. Results from this study indicate that sarin may induce delayed neurotoxic effects in mice following repeated inhalation exposure.

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