Chemical warfare agents analytical methods

Concerns over possible terrorist use, continued interest by the defense community and the requirements of a verifiable CWC, have driven the development and application of analytical methods for the detection, characterization, and confirmation of chemical warfare agents. Analytical techniques play an important role in this process as sampling and analysis will be conducted to ensure treaty compliance, to investigate allegations of use, and to verify the use of these weapons for forensic purposes. 

Marianne Roller was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1958. She did her diploma in chemistry at the Technical University of Munich in 1984 and received her Ph.D. with magna cum laude under Prof. Ivar Ugi in 1989. During the following years, she specialized on instrumental analytics. Since 1995, she has been responsible for the development of GC-MS and LC-MS methods for the detection of chemical warfare agents in biomedical samples (verification) at the German Forces. Sulfur mustard, whose homologues can be used as educts in the synthesis of sulfur macrocycles, is one of her objects of interest. 

Seto, Y. (2006b). Analytical and on-site detection methods for chemical warfare agents. Yakugaku Zasshi 126 1279-99. 

Methodologies for the verification of exposure to chemical warfare agents have been published recently in special issues of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology (Barr, 2004, 2008 Black, 2008). Methodology of the clinical methods has also been reviewed by Noort et al. (2002), Black and Noort (2007), and Capacio et al. (2008). This chapter is not... 

Analytical (non-biologicat) applications are described under the appropriate physical method below, but P NMR spectroscopy has been used to detect trace amounts of chemical warfare agents and related compounds in environmental samples using a combination of H and P NMR spectroscopy. ... 

CURRENT STATUS OF ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR OPC SCREENING AS CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENT... 

Rapid detection of chemical warfare agents in the field is essential. However, reliable analytical techniques such as gas or liquid chromatography are not suitable for routine use out of the laboratory. One method that has been investigated makes use of the release of HF from the hydrolysis of a fiuorophosphonate compound (e.g. Sarin). The reaction is catalysed by a copper(II) complex containing the MezNCHzCHzNMez ligand ... 

Hill, H.H. Martin, J.S. Conventional analytical methods for chemical warfare agents. Pure Appl. Chem. 2002, 74, 2281-2291. 

Haigh, T.A. (2007) Chemical warfare agents and their hydrolysis products from the US EPA standardized analytical methods and GC-MS analytical method for the analysis of chemical warfare agent degradation products listed in the EPA standardized analytical methods. In NEMC Conference. Cambridge, MA. 

At the present time there are enough number of techniques developed to determine chemical warfare agents and their decomposition products in environment [6]. But only few of them we can put into practice since their main factors, viz. efficiency, analytical, and metrological characteristics do not satisfy requirements and international standards. Beside, these methods must have a certain technical and legal status, viz. they must be certified, brought mto service, and standardized. 

In order to identify compounds especially with unknown structure (which are often formed during the process of chemical warfare agents destruction) we use the precision and highly automatized devices (NMR-spectroscopy on nuclei of phosphorus-32 and fluorine-19, IR-spectroscopy with Furrier transform) as well as data processing methods, decode and interpret analytical information. It is also important to use information retrieval and expert systems. 

Analytical Methods for Chemical Warfare Agents. Special issue. Journal of Analytical Toxicology 28, no. 5 (July/August 2004). 

Reprinted from Executive Summary of Chemical Warfare Agents and their Hydrolysis Products from the US EPA Standardized Analytical Methods and GC-MS Analytical Method for the Analysis of Chemical Warfare Agent Degradation Products listed in the EPA Standardized Analytical Methods US EPA, Theodore A. Haigh... 

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