Citation

Bolt HM, Hengstler JG. Arch. Toxicol. 2022; 96(5): 1137-1140.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00204-022-03273-7

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The first organophosphate intoxication cases that were published in Archives of Toxicology were caused by parathion (E605), and a high acute toxicity of this chemical was noted, at a human lethal dose of 2.1 g E605 forte (Vogel 1953). Since that, acetylcholine esterase inhibitors became a classical textbook matter in toxicology (reviews: Worek et al. 2016; Nepomivova and Kuca 2019).

Recently, the cases of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and of Alexei Navalny have attracted considerable public interest in acetylcholine esterase inhibitors in general, and Novichok agents in particular. Clinical details of both intoxication cases have been published, to which reference can be made (Skripal case: Vale et al. 2018; Navalny case: Steindl et al. 2021). Now, almost 2 and 4 years after the cases, it is interesting to discuss the available scientific research.

The Novichok agent A 234 (structural formula on Fig. 1) was alleged by the British government to have been used to poison the Skripals, and its identity was confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). After the British authorities classified this incident as poisoning terrorism based on the use of a novel series of nerve agents, OPCW ratified all Novichok-based components in the Chemical Weapons Convention lists in June 2020 (Lee et al. 2021)...

Language: en