Sarin is a member of the organophosphate group of chemical weapons. There are several other nerve gases. They all kill people by preventing the breakdown of a compound in our nerves that is essential in telling our muscles when to contract. This compound is called acetylcholine.
Usually acetylcholine is released from the end of the nerve and then attaches to the surface of the muscle. When enough acetylcholine is on the muscle it will contract. A protein called acetylcholinesterase then digests the acetylcholine, which allows the muscle to relax. The organophosphates interfere with acetylcholinesterase's ability to breakdown acetylcholine. When this happens the muscles are stuck in contraction. People die because the muscles that cause the lungs to expand and contract do not work properly and the person cannot breathe.
One of the problems in using Sarin as a chemical weapon is that it rapidly degrades. Therefore, research was done to find longer-lasting nerve gases. A number of them were discovered and have been produced and stockpiled.
While looking for long-lasting nerve gases researchers also discovered less toxic organophosphates that were very good at killing insects. Some farmers still use compounds like methyl parathion on their crops to kill insects. The Environmental Protection Agency is looking into the possible toxic effects of these organophosphates on our foods.
The problem with stockpiling organophosphate nerve gases and producing organophosphate insecticides is what do you do with them when you don't want to use them anymore. There are several chemical means of destroying these agents; however, they can be toxic as well and not environmentally friendly.
Another problem is that when insecticides are used on farms occasionally a spill will occur and equipment used to disperse the insecticide is contaminated with the organophosphate. A spill must be decontaminated and the equipment must be cleaned. An environmentally friendly way of decontaminating a spill and farm equipment would be very helpful.
Recently, a group of researchers at the University of California in Riverside were able to genetically modify a bacterium to produce a protein that could destroy these organophosphates. Ashok Mulchandani and his colleagues were able to place in Escherichia coli (E. coli) a gene that codes for a protein called organophosphorus hydrolase.
Earlier, they had found certain bacteria in
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