Developments during World War II

A method for the fractionation of plasma, allowing albumin, y-globulin, and fibrinogen to become available for clinical use, was developed during World War II (see also Fractionation, blood-plasma fractionation). A stainless steel blood cell separation bowl, developed in the early 1950s, was the earhest blood cell separator. A disposable polycarbonate version of the separation device, now known as the Haemonetics Latham bowl for its inventor, was first used to collect platelets from a blood donor in 1971. Another cell separation rotor was developed to faciUtate white cell collections. This donut-shaped rotor has evolved to the advanced separation chamber of the COBE Spectra apheresis machine. 

This is a technique developed during World War II for simulating stochastic physical processes, specifically, neutron transport in atomic bomb design. Its name comes from its resemblance to gambling. Each of the random variables in a relationship is represented by a distribution (Section 2.5). A random number generator picks a number from the distribution with a probability proportional to the pdf. After physical weighting the random numbers for each of the stochastic variables, the relationship is calculated to find the value of the independent variable (top event if a fault tree) for this particular combination of dependent variables (e.g.. components). 

As described in Chapter 4, pesticide and fertilizer manufacturing is largely an outgrowth of mihtary technology developed during World War II. Discoveries in this field showed that pesticide production could be cost-effective, and... 

Interestingly, much work has been devoted to the development of substances in the class of cholinesterase inhibitors that have exceedingly high toxicity substances that also have properties (such as volatility and sufficient but not excessive environmental stability) that make them useful as agents of warfare. Most of those now stockpiled were first developed during World War II. Sarin and VX are perhaps the most well-known members of this class of compounds that have been especially designed to kill people. 

In Great Britain a cast explosive Torpex was developed during World War II. It was composed of 41% of RDX, 41% of TNT and 18% of aluminium. It was used for filling torpedoes and bombs. 

RDX (2.14), also known as Hexogen, Cyclonite and cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine (C3H6N606), was first prepared in 1899 by Henning for medicinal use and used as an explosive in 1920 by Herz. The properties and preparation of RDX were fully developed during World War II. 

In order to clarify the problem of decomposition products, a set of rules was developed during World War II by Kistiakowsky and Wilson. These rules are nowadays known as the Kistiakowsky- Wilson rules (K-W rules). These rules should only be used for moderately oxygen-deficient explosives with an oxygen balance greater than — 40.0. 

Instrumentation developments in the 1920 s and 30 s led to a rapid expansion of spectroscopic methods in the laboratory (28, 34-39). These included further penetration into the infrared regime and some applications to infrared transmission in the atmosphere. Additional equipment was developed during World War II as a result of military requirements. This period was a fruitful one for the science of spectroscopy, and saw the first applications of infrared equipment as gas measurement tools (40-41) and as routine process controllers (42). 

One of the most interesting catalytic reactions to be discovered is the so-called oxo reaction. The oxo reaction consists of the catalytic addition of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to olefins to form, primarily, aldehydes possessing one carbon atom more than the original olefin. This hy-droformylation reaction was developed during World War II by Roelen and co-workers (22) in Germany. While they utilized solid Fischer-Tropsch cobalt-thoria catalyst, it became apparent to them that the hydroformylation reaction was probably a homogeneous catalytic process with either dicobalt octaearbonyl or cobalt hydrocarbonyl as the catalyst. 

Figure 9.17. Organophosphate inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase. a The catalytic mechanism, shown here for diiso-propylfluorophosphate(DFP).b Stmcturesof soman and tabun. Like DFP, these were developed during world war II as nerve gases , c Stractures of the insecticides parathion and malathion, and of paraoxon, which is the achve metabolite of parathion. (Malathion likewise requires conversion to malaoxon.) The arrow above the malathione stmcture indicates the esterase cleavage sites in its leaving group esterase cleavage occurs in human plasma and renders the molecule non-toxic.

The organophosphosphates represent another extremely important class of organic insecticides. They were developed during World War II as chemical warfare agents. Early examples included the powerful insecticide schradan, a systemic insecticide, and the contact insecticide parathion. Unfortunately, both of these compounds are highly poisonous to mammals and subsequent research in this field has been directed toward the development of more selective and less poisonous insecticides. In 1950, malathion, the first example of a wide-specUnm organophosphorus insecticide combined with very low mammalian toxicity, was developed. And at about the same time the phenoxyacetic acid herbicides were discovered. These systemic compounds ate extremely valuable for the selective control of broad-leaved weeds in cereal crops. These compounds have a relatively low toxicity to mammals and are therefore relatively safe to use. 

Plutonium is a synthetic (artificial) element. It exists naturally only in the smallest imaginable amounts. Plutonium was first prepared artificially by a team of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) in 1941. News of this discovery was not released, however, until 1946. This delay was caused by the need for secrecy about scientific developments during World War II (1939-1945). 

The method of manufacture of nitroform from acetylene found as early as 1900 by Baschieri (Voi. I, p. 587) was described by Orton and McKie [141]. It became possible to convert one of the carbons of acetylene to nitroform through a mercury catalysed oxidation-nitration process with nitric acid. Nitroform is an intermediate product of nitration and yields tetranitromethane under the action of excess nitric acid (Vol. I, p. S94). The method was developed during World War II by Schultheiss I42] and Schimmelschmidt 143 on a large laboratory scale with the atm of producing tetranitromethane. l ater the industrial scale method for the manufacture of nitroform was created by Wctter-holm [I44 (and is described below). 

According to Fcdoroff and Sheffletd [71] original types of explosives were developed during World War II by Ottaolauruchi Esplosivo F.E.l, F.E.2 and F.E.3. 

Cocaine is a synthetic drug developed during World War II. 

Dimercaprol is a synthetic therapeutic substance developed during World War II as an antidote against the vesicant arsenic war gases (lewisite). The first experiments were based on the fact that arsenic products react with SH radicals. Among all the compounds originally tested, BAL was the most effective and the least toxic. In 1951, BAL was used by a... 

More than 90 percent of commercial phosphorus production is in the form of calcium salts of phosphoric acid, H3PO4, used as fertilizers. Other significant uses of phosphorus compounds are in the manufacture of matches (phosphorus sulfides), food products and beverages (purified phosphoric acid and its salts), detergents (sodium polyphosphates), plasticizers for polymers (esters of phosphoric acid), and pesticides (derivatives of phosphoric acid). Related to the phosphorus pesticides are nerve gases, poisonons com-potmds that rapidly attack the central nervous system, initially developed during World War II. see also Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Fertilizer Pesticides. 

The Chamorro people of Guam have a high incidence of a syndrome that resembles amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with elements of Parkinson s disease and dementia. This syndrome developed during World War II when, as a result of food shortages, the tribe ate large quantities... 

---