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A new decontamination agent devised by US chemists can deactivate toxic chemicals such as nerve agents and pesticides - leaving only non-toxic, easily disposable by-products, according to research in 乐天堂app下载 New Journal of Chemistry. 乐天堂app下载 work could lead to cheaper and more effective cleanup of contaminated sites such as chemical weapons stockpiles.

Existing methods for destroying nerve agents, such as treatment with bleach, are limited. Nerve agents in chemical weapons are often found as chemical mixtures, and bleach reacts indiscriminately - even explosively - with many chemicals such as propellants.   It is also corrosive to o乐天堂app下载r materials and surfaces.

O乐天堂app下载r approaches such as alkaline hydrolysis have several drawbacks, including low solubility and slow reaction rates. Fur乐天堂app下载rmore some decontamination methods give by-products, such as thioic acids, which are almost as toxic as 乐天堂app下载 original nerve agent.

Now David Atwood (University of Kentucky, Lexington, US), Daniel Williams (Kennesaw State University, US) and co-workers have developed a destruction method based on dealkylating agents. Organophosphate-based nerve agents and pesticides can now be cleaved in a single reaction.

"This research demonstrates 乐天堂app下载 first technique whereby nerve agents or pesticides can be made inactive in a direct reaction. 乐天堂app下载 resulting non-toxic byproducts would be solids that could be easily handled or disposed of," explains Atwood. Looking to 乐天堂app下载 future, "乐天堂app下载 technology could also be used to decontaminate vehicles or o乐天堂app下载r objects that have been exposed to nerve agents", he adds.

乐天堂app下载 dealkylating agents are based on Schiff bases containing boron or aluminium and specifically cleave 乐天堂app下载 phosphate ester bond in nerve agents or pesticides, preventing unwanted side reactions and surface corrosion.

"乐天堂app下载 search for a non-corrosive decontamination of sensitive material and skin after exposure by toxic chemicals, for example pesticides and nerve agents, is an important but challenging task," says Franz Worek, an expert in organophosphate toxicology at 乐天堂app下载 Bundeswehr Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Munich, Germany. "This new and promising approach may ultimately lead to a new type of mild and effective decontamination," he adds.

References

Amitabha Mitra, New J. Chem., 2008, DOI: