Ethyl sarin properties

Ethyl dimethylphosphoramidofluoridate (VIII) was prepared by a similar method and proved to be a very toxic liquid. Its l.d. 50, on intravenous injection into rabbits and also on subcutaneous injection into mice, was 2-5 mg./kg. Toxicity was also determined by inhalation and a Ct ((7 = concentration, <=10 min.) of 200 mg./min./cu.m. killed seven out of a batch of eleven rabbits, guinea-pigs, rats and mice a Ct of 100 mg./min./cu.m. killed four out of eleven. The compound also possessed myotic properties. Other compounds that we made in this series were much more toxic and it will be seen that they bear some resemblance to tabun and sarin now about... 

Interpretation and understanding of the toxicokinetics of nerve agents would not be possible without taking into consideration that these agents consist of mixtures of stereoisomers, which are often extremely different in their toxicokinetic and toxico-dynamic properties. A common feature of these agents is the presence of chirality (asymmetry) around the phosphorus atom. Therefore, O-isopropyl methylphos-phonofluoridate (sarin) and 0-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphospho-nothioate (VX) consist of equal amounts of stereoisomers, denoted as (-1-)- and (-)-sarin and (-1 )- and (-)-VX, respectively. In the case of 0-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (soman), an additional chiral center resides in the 1,2,2-methylpropyl (pinacolyl) moiety, leading to the presence of four stereoisomers. Synthetic soman, i.e., a mixture of the four stereoisomers, is denoted as C( )P( )-soman, whereas the individual four stereoisomers are denoted as C(+)P(-l-), C(-H)P(-), C(-)P(+), and C(-)P( ), in which C stands for chirality in the pinacolyl moiety and P for chirality around phosphorus. The enantiomeric pairs [C(-r)P(+) + C(-)P( )] and [C(+)P(-) -l- C(-)P(+)] are present in synthetic... 

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