Biochemical Research on Chemical Warfare Agents

Toxicity of vesicant agents scheduled for destruction by the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program.

“…In terms of chemical reactivity, sulfur mustard is a classic alkylating agent and readily reacts with components of DNA, RNA, and proteins (19,(25)(26)(27)(28). The chemical modifications that various biological molecules undergo through alkylation can result in severe disorganization of their normal biological function.…”

Evaluation of Chemical Warfare Agent Percutaneous Vapor Toxicity: Derivation of Toxicity Guidelines for Assessing Chemical Protective Ensembles.

“…The biological activity of HD is characterized by a latent period of hours to days, and may be followed by inflammation, blistering, and local necrosis (depending on agent concentration and exposure duration). Toxicological effects are local at the point of agent contact with the skin, and begin to manifest (depending on exposure concentrations) within approximately 2-3 hours post-exposure (Dixon and Needham 1946;McNamara et al 1975;Papirmeister et al 1985Papirmeister et al , 1991Smith and Dunn 1991;Watson and Griffin 1992;Smith 2002). The earliest manifestation is usually an itching rash at the point of contact, which may progress to swelling and erythema, and (sometimes large) blisters.…”

The Toxicity of Vesicants and Some Other Compounds to the Pyruvate Oxidase System* (Brain)

“…Table XV gives the results and shows that none of the poisons tested interfered with the amino-acid oxidase The experiments in this section indicate that the pyruvate oxidase system is selectively poisoned by H at concentrations which do not affect the other parts of the system, though the concentration of H required for this toxic effect is much larger than that of arsenicals and the two relevant sulphones. Since this work was reported Dixon and Needham (1941) van Heyningen (1941) and workers in the U.S. considerably extended the number of enzymes tried; very few were sensitive to H. hexokinase (Dixon and Needham, 1946;van Heyningen, 1941) 4. All three substances attacked the pyruvate system selectively, and the pyruvate components of the total oxidase system; the toxic action upon succinic dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, and lactate dehydrogenase was much less marked, and no toxic action upon amino-acid oxidase was observed with the concentrations used.…”