A-230 is an

organophosphate In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered a ...

nerve agent Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...

. It was developed in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

under the FOLIANT program and is one of the group of compounds referred to as

Novichok agent Novichok (russian: Новичо́к, lit=newcomer, novice, newbie) is a group of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Ru ...

s that were revealed by

Vil Mirzayanov Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov (russian: Вил Султанович Мирзаянов, tt-Cyrl, Вил Солтан улы Мирзаҗанов; born 9 March 1935 in Starokangyshevo, Dyurtyulinsky District, Bashkortostan) is a Russian people, Russi ...

. A-230 is possibly the most potent nerve agent for which specific toxicity figures have been published, with a human lethal dose estimated to be less than 0.1 mg. However it was felt to be less suitable for weaponisation than other agents such as

A-232 A-232 is an organophosphate nerve agent. It was developed in the Soviet Union under the FOLIANT program and is one of the group of compounds referred to as Novichok agents that were revealed by Vil Mirzayanov. A-232 is reportedly slightly less pote ...

and A-234, due to issues with the liquid agent exhibiting low volatility and solidifying at low temperatures, as well as poor stability in the presence of water.

Legal status

A-230 has been added to

Schedule 1 Schedule 1 may refer to: * Schedule I Controlled Substances within the US Controlled Substances Act * Schedule I Controlled Drugs and Substances within the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act * Schedule I Psychotropic Substances within t ...

of the Annex on Chemicals of the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

as of June 2020, and it has been explicitly named as an example compound for schedule 1.A.13. For chemicals listed in Schedule 1, the most stringent declaration and verification measures are in place combined with far-reaching limits and bans on production and use.

References

{{Neurotoxins Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors Amidines Phosphonamidofluoridates Novichok agents

Legal status

See also

References