VX (nerve agent)
Chemical compound and chemical warfare nerve agent
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Key Takeaways
- VX is an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus class, specifically, a thiophosphonate.
- In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour.
- The substance is lethal in very small quantities: fatalities occur with exposure to tens of milligrams of VX via inhalation or absorption through skin.
- On such exposure, these agents severely disrupt the body's signaling between the nervous and muscular systems, leading to a prolonged neuromuscular blockade, flaccid paralysis of all the muscles in the body including the diaphragm, and death by asphyxiation.
- It was developed further at Porton Down in England during the early 1950s, based on research first done by Gerhard Schrader, a chemist working for IG Farben in Germany during the 1930s.
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Source summary
WikipediaVX is an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus class, specifically, a thiophosphonate. In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research. In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour. Because of its low volatility, VX persists in environments where it is dispersed.
The substance is lethal in very small quantities: fatalities occur with exposure to tens of milligrams of VX via inhalation or absorption through skin. It is more potent than sarin, another nerve agent with a similar mechanism of action. On such exposure, these agents severely disrupt the body's signaling between the nervous and muscular systems, leading to a prolonged neuromuscular blockade, flaccid paralysis of all the muscles in the body including the diaphragm, and death by asphyxiation.
VX, short for "venomous agent X", is one of the best known of the V nerve agents and originated from pesticide development work at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). It was developed further at Porton Down in England during the early 1950s, based on research first done by Gerhard Schrader, a chemist working for IG Farben in Germany during the 1930s. It is now one of a broader V-series of agents which are classified as nerve agents. VX has been allegedly used in warfare and has been used in several assassinations.
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