Organophosphorus nerve agents medical

SOMAN. Following the discoveries of tabun and sarin, Germany continued its search for other organophosphorus nerve agents during World War II. This search led to the 1944 discovery of 0-pina-colyl methylphosphonofluoridate (C7HjgN02P), which became known as soman. For years, this discovery was attributed to Richard Kuhn (1900-1967), who was selected for the 1938 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on carotinoids and vitamins but declined it. More recent research instead attributes the discovery to Konrad Henkel, a scientist working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research, which was directed by Kuhn. 

At around the same time, a small circle of Nazi officials learned about the discovery of Soman, one of the most deadly nerve agents known to man, which stiU required further development. Unbeknown to Schrader and many others working in the chemical warfare field, Richard Kuhn, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, and his team of scientists had been commissioned by the military to screen various organophosphorus compounds for their level of cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition, and had discovered Soman in the process. When inhaled. Soman turned out to be twice as toxic as Sarin, was able to penetrate through the skin, and quickly affected the central nervous system. Because it inhibited cholinesterase very rapidly, the effective use of antidotes such as atropine was considerably reduced. Experiments on dogs and apes at Gross laboratory in Elberfeld quickly established the enormous toxicity of the new substance. 

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