We have developed a rapid and highly reliable analytical methodology for current and prospective nerve agents and their degradation products. The approach is to augment existing analytical methods with a specific enzymatic transformation step. It utilizes a novel bacterial phosphonate ester hydrolase enzyme (PEH), which degrades the agents’ alkali hydrolysis phospho-products (h-agents) to alkyl...

CONTEXT The main objectives of triage are securing patient safety during the process of emergency diagnosis and treatment, and reduction of waiting time for medical services and transport. To date, there is no triage system for nerve agent victims. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION This systematic review proposes a new triage system for patients exposed to nerve agents. Information regarding clinical sign...

Threats from chemical warfare agents, commonly known as nerve gases, constitute a serious security issue of increasing global concern because of surging terrorist activity worldwide. However, nerve gases are difficult to detect using current analytical tools and outside dedicated laboratories. Here we demonstrate that surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) can be used for sensitive detection ...

Clonidine, in low intravenous doses, inhibited the increased heart rate of pithed rats caused by peripheral sympathetic nerve stimulation. The magnitude of this effect was greatest at low frequencies of nerve stimulation, responses to high frequencies being little affected by the drug. In contrast, guanethidine reduced cardiac responses to both low and high rates of nerve stimulation. The diffe...

It is unlikely that Gulf War veterans are suffering chronic effects from illnesses caused by chemical warfare nerve agent exposure. Extensive investigation and review by several expert panels have determined that no evidence exists that chemical warfare nerve agents were used during the Gulf War. At no time before, during, or after the war was there confirmation of symptoms among anyone, milita...

The effects of a-receptor-blocking agents on the contractile responses of isolated rabbit arteries to sympathetic nerve stimulation and exogenous lnorepinephrine (Z-NE) were compared. In the pulmonary artery and aorta, yohimbine, phentolamine, and phenoxybenzamine blocked the response to nerve stimulation less than that to an equipotent dose of Z-NE. This resistance of neurogenic response was i...

Prolidases hydrolyze Xaa-Pro dipeptides and can also cleave the P-F and P-O bonds found in organophosphorus (OP) compounds, including the nerve agents soman and sarin. Ph1prol (PH0974) has previously been isolated and characterized from Pyrococcus horikoshii and was shown to have higher catalytic activity over a broader pH range, higher affinity for metal, and increased thermostability compared...

Organophosphate nerve agents inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is involved in nerve signal transduction, by forming covalent adducts with its catalytic serine residue. AChE adducts with soman and sarin nerve agents undergo dealkylation, a process known as aging, within a few minutes and a few hours, respectively. This transformation is detrimental because it precludes reacti...

Abstract Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is a fundamental mechanism that enables the development of numerous fluorophores and probes for bioimaging sensing. However, electron-withdrawing targets (EWTs)-induced fluorescence quenching long-standing unsolved issue in ICT fluorophores, significantly limits widespread applicability. Here we report simple generalizable structural-modification co...