A-262 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 ...

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

. It was developed in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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

Novichok agent Novichok () is a family 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 Russia between 1971 and 1993. Some Novichok agents are ...

s that were revealed by

Vil Mirzayanov Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov (, ; born 9 March 1935 in Starokangyshevo, Dyurtyulinsky District, Bashkortostan) is a Russian chemist of ethnic Tatar origin who now lives in the United States, best known for revealing secret chemical weapons experi ...

. Mirzayanov gives little specific information about A-262, stating that it is highly toxic, but no figures are given to compare it to other related agents. It is reportedly a solid rather than a volatile liquid as with most nerve agents, and in order to weaponise it successfully, it had to be milled into a fine powder form that could be dispersed as a dust.

Legal status

A-262 is not specifically listed in 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 ...

, and falls outside the general definitions covering other Novichok agents, even though it has a chemical structure similar to that of both

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 pot ...

(the example compound for schedule 1.A.14) and

A-242 A-242 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. Mirzayanov gives little specific infor ...

(the example compound for schedule 1.A.15). It would however be considered a "Toxic Chemical" under the catch-all provisions due to its potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor activity and potential military applications, but the level of control it is subject to is lower than that for compounds specifically listed under Schedule 1.

References

{{Neurotoxins Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors Guanidines Phosphonamidofluoridates Novichok agents Methyl esters Diethylamino compounds

Legal status

See also

References