The Threat of Mid-Spectrum Chemical Warfare Agents

Abstract

There is a spectrum of several threat agents, ranging from nerve agents and mustard agents to natural substances, such as biotoxins and new, synthetic, bioactive molecules produced by the chemical industry, to the classical biological warfare agents. The new, emerging threat agents are biotoxins produced by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Examples of such biotoxins are botulinum toxin, tetanus toxin, and ricin. Several bioactive molecules produced by the pharmaceutical industry can be even more toxic than are the classical chemical warfare agents. Such new agents, like the biotoxins and bioregulators, often are called mid-spectrum agents. The threat to humans from agents developed by modern chemical synthesis and by genetic engineering also must be considered, since such agents may be more toxic or more effective in causing death or incapacitation than classical warfare agents. By developing effective medical protection and treatment against the most likely chemical and mid-spectrum threat agents, the effects of such agents in a war scenario or following a terrorist attack can be reduced.

Age-dependent behaviors, seizure severity and neuronal damage in response to nerve agents or the organophosphate DFP in immature and adult rats

“…Exposure to nerve agents (NAs) and other organophosphates (OPs) can produce prolonged repetitive seizures and status epilepticus (SE), a medical condition that causes high morbidity and mortality. NAs and other OPs irreversibly bind to the active site of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and thus inhibit the degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which then results in excess cholinergic activation ( Aas, 2003 ). Centrally, excessive activation at muscarinic receptors by acetylcholine can initiate extended seizures ( Hamilton et al, 1997 ), and these extended seizures can rapidly progress to SE which in turn produces marked neuronal death and mortality in animals ( Apland et al, 2010 ; Crawford et al, 2004 ; Li et al, 2011 ; McDonough and Shih, 1997 ; Tuovinen, 2004 ).…”

Chemical risk and chemical warfare agents: science and technology against humankind

“…On the contrary, the use of such weapons in a terrorist action, in small amounts too, against a civilian and unprepared target would cause large damages and would give rise to a major psychological impact on population (Aas 2003;Congressional Research Service 2004). The threat of a massive use of chemical weapons at war on open battlefields, therefore, has been fading away gradually in the last decades.…”

Nano-structured Solids and Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Selective Decontamination of Chemical Warfare Agents

“…, Au or Pd nanoparticles; v. infra ) are needed to carry out the catalytic transformation and degradation of the toxic agent. In other papers, the lack of a multidisciplinary research approach led to partial results that cannot fi nd ready practical applications [ 13 ]. In addition, the recent ever-increasing concerns about the consequences on human health of nanosized inorganic systems [ 14 ] must induce the research group dealing with extensive use of nanosystems to evaluate carefully their toxicological and pathogenic impact on human body and the environment [ 15 , 16 ].…”