ABSTRACT
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 97 II. Nerve Agent Stereo-Isomers: Chiral Analysis .................................................................... 98 III. Experimental ....................................................................................................................... 99 IV. Intravenous Toxicokinetics of Soman, Sarin, and VX ..................................................... 101
A. Soman ........................................................................................................................ 101 B. Sarin........................................................................................................................... 104 C. VX ............................................................................................................................. 104
V. Percutaneous Toxicokinetics of VX ................................................................................. 109 VI. Elimination Pathways of Soman, Sarin, and VX ............................................................. 111 VII. Effect of Human Plasma Butyrylcholinesterase as Scavenger on the Toxicokinetics
of Nerve Agents ................................................................................................................ 113 VIII. Concluding Remarks......................................................................................................... 117 References ..................................................................................................................................... 118
Toxicokinetic studies, together with toxicodynamic studies of nerve agents, provide a quantitative basis for the design of new strategies against intoxication with nerve agents. There is a long tradition of investigations on the toxicodynamics of nerve agents since their introduction as potential agents of chemical warfare during World War II. These studies have led to strategies in which phosphorylated cholinesterase is reactivated with oximes, often in combination with the administration of a central nervous depressant suppress convulsions and other central effects, and through administration of the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, atropine.
