Synthetic Methods Applied to the Detection of Chemical Warfare Nerve Agents

Abstract

Recent events as they relate to the war on terror make it abundantly clear that the rapid detection of chemical warfare nerve agents is essential. While the detection of these agents clearly falls into the purview of the analytical chemist, the importance of the organic chemist in the development of new techniques or approaches remains intact. This review serves to introduce the reader to a number of methods for detecting nerve agents with a focus on those techniques which rely on synthetic chemistry to improve overall performance with respect to selectivity, sensitivity and analysis time.

Nanomaterial Based Biosensors for Detection of Biomarkers of Exposure to OP Pesticides and Nerve Agents: A Review

“…Organophosphorus (OP) pesticides and chemical nerve agents have the potential to cause serious health threats to humans and animals. These compounds have been extensively used as pesticides (e. g. paraoxon, parathion and coumaphos) , in modern agriculture, and certain extremely toxic OP compounds have been developed as chemical warfare agents (e. g. sarin, tabun and soman) , . The acute toxicity of an exposure to these OP chemicals stems from the fact that they target a number of important proteins, including a group of hydrolytic enzymes, such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is particularly critical for central and peripheral nervous‐system functions .…”

Selective detection of parathion-methyl based on near-infrared CuInS2 quantum dots

“…Organophosphates (OPs), major classes of pesticides, have been widely used in agriculture (Giordano & Collins, 2007;Young, Balluz, & Malilay, 2004). Parathion-methyl (PM), belongs to the OPs, could be used on crops and vegetables for controlling sucking and chewing insects (Arjmandi, Tavakol, & Shayeghi, 2010;Wang, Liang, & Jiang, 2008).…”

Simultaneous detection of parathion and imidacloprid using broad-specificity polyclonal antibody in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

“…Organophosphorus compounds have been widely used in medicine as anthelmintics, in agriculture as pesticides and as chemical warfare agents. [1][2][3][4][5] Parathion, an organophosphorus compound, has been used to control pests on numerous crops and its effects on heart, liver, kidney and endocrine activity in humans has been reported. 6 Neonicotinoid insecticides have great systemic activity, but they may cause oxidative stress and inammation of the central nervous system.…”