Sarin, chemical synthesis

Toxin Any toxic substance that can be produced by an animal, plant, or microbe. Some toxins can also be produced by molecular biological techniques (protein toxins) or by chemical synthesis (low-molecular-weight toxins). Chemical agents, such as soman, sarin, VX, cyanide, and mustard agents, typically man-made for weaponization, are not included in this discussion except for comparison. 

Durst et al. (29) made microscale synthesis of several sarin analogues in autosampler vials and analyzed them directly with a gas chromato-graphy/infrared spectroscope/mass spectrometer (GC/IR/MS) instrument. Ninety different alkyl and cycloalkyl alcohols were used. They presented a couple of light-pipe IR spectra and a table of typical gas-phase frequencies (vp F, vp=0, pP methyl, 8S P methyi, vp 0 c) for 12 sarin-type chemicals. 

Seto, Y. (2001). The sarin gas attack in Japan and the related forensic investigation. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (http //www.opcw.org/synthesis/html/s6/ pl4prt.html). 

Mulpuri PD, Sarin VK (1996) Synthesis of mullite coatings by chemical vapor deposition. J Mater Res 11 1315-1324... 

Possible roles of OP nerve agents in warfare are outlined in Table 1. Until the use of sarin in Mat-sumoto and Tokyo, the use of chemical weapons as terrorists tools had been considered unlikely. Since then, and the emergence of al-Qaida, this has been reconsidered and Table 2 gives some of the roles whereby terrorists might make use of chemical weapons. Note that the synthesis of... 

Tabun is the easiest of the nerve agents to produce, essentially by a two to three stage process from industrially available chemicals. " It has less favourable physicochemieal properties than the other weaponised nerve agents its vapour pressure is quite low (bp 248 °C) and it is the least stable towards moisture in the environment. Added to this, its lower inhalation toxicity compared with sarin and soman, and its much lower percutaneous toxicity compared with VX, it is regarded as being obsolete as a military agent. Its ease of synthesis might make it attraetive to proliferators with a limited chemical industry or to terrorists. 

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