Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are organic derivatives of phosphorus that have largely been used as pesticides and nerve agents. Tetraethylpyrophosphate was synthesized in 1854 as the first OP cholinesterase inhibitor. During 1934–1944, Gerhard Schrader, a German chemist at I. G. Farben industries and his coworkers synthesized about 2,000 OP compounds, including parathion as a pesticide and ta...

The enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an important part of cholinergic nervous system, where it stops neurotransmission by hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It is sensitive to inhibition by organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, some Alzheimer disease drugs, secondary metabolites such as aflatoxins and nerve agents used in chemical warfare. When immobilized on a sensor ...

Administration of oxime therapy is currently the standard approach used to reverse the acute toxicity of organophosphorus (OP) compounds, which is usually attributed to OP inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Rate constants for reactivation of OP-inhibited AChE by even the best oximes, such as HI-6 and obidoxime, can vary >100-fold between OP-AChE conjugates that are easily reactivated an...

A methodology combining molecular structure represented by fragments, and artificial neural network (ANN) was applied for the prediction of a new acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) reactivator. We searched for a new structure of the AChE reactivator with the capability of reactivating AChE inhibited by almost all actual nerve agents. For this purpose, we have tested in vitro seventeen pote...