Индийские ученые создали наноматериал для мгновенного обнаружения и обезвреживания нервно-паралитических веществ

Scientists have long struggled to reliably detect nerve agents used in chemical warfare , not just because they are highly toxic, but because many sensors produce the same yellow colour as the chemicals they are trying to identify, making the signal easy to miss or misread. Now, researchers at the CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) in Chennai have found a solution: a nanomaterial that can detect and neutralise such compounds within 13 seconds. The team has developed a cerium-based nanozyme, a material engineered to behave like a natural enzyme, that reacts quickly with organophosphate compounds (nerve agents). Cerium (Ce) is the most abundant rare-earth metal and helps create the bright white light in energy-saving bulbs and LEDs. The CLRI team’s nanozyme is designed for on-site detection of contamination, not for medical or blood testing. It can be used to identify toxic residues on surfaces, equipment, or in industrial and environmental settings — situations where rapid, reliable detection is critical. How technology detects nerve agents When a nerve-agent-like chemical such as paraoxon comes into contact with it, the material breaks the molecule. The product then binds to cerium clusters in the structure, subtly changing how electrons move within the material. That shift shows up as a clear orange-brown colour, replacing the usual yellow signal. The change is visible even on a paper strip, while the material simultaneously begins to degrade the toxin. In lab tests, half the compound broke down in about six minutes. “This nanozyme seamlessly arrests products with its binding to Ce clusters, triggering wavelength transitions that overcome colour confusion and enable quick detection,” said Haldum Mangalasana, the study’s first author. CLRI scientist Amit A Vernker says this colour shift is central to the material’s advantage. Nerve agents The study, done in collaboration with Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, was published in Chemistry – A European Journal . The challenge of detecting those compounds goes back nearly a century. According to a 2018 Scientific American article, the first nerve agents were discovered accidentally in the 1930s when German scientists trying to make cheaper and more effective insecticides stumbled upon phosphorus-containing compounds that proved deadly even in tiny quantities. Two of those later became known as tabun and sarin. Their extreme toxicity soon led to their use as chemical weapons, with recorded instances ranging from the Iran-Iraq war to the Tokyo subway attack in 1995 and more recent targeted poisonings. Variants based on the same chemistry exist today in certain pesticides, though under tighter restrictions. The article notes that later compounds such as VX, first synthesised in the 1950s, were considered too toxic for agricultural use and entered military chemical-weapons programmes. Notable incidents What makes them particularly dangerous is how they interfere with the body. Some nerve agents such as VX enter the body through the breath or skin. According to CLRI researchers, these organophosphate compounds block acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme essential for nerve signalling, causing the nervous system to fail, often leading to paralysis and death even at very low exposure levels. Scientific American notes that early German researchers reported symptoms such as constriction of pupils, dizziness and breathing difficulty after accidental exposure to minuscule quantities. The present detection methods, including gas chromatography, fluorescence probes and enzyme-based assays, require sophisticated instruments or multiple agents, while some struggle to clearly distinguish between similar chemicals. A 2018 study published in Scientific Reports noted that the effect of acute toxicity of organophosphate nerve agents (OPNAs) highlighted more than ever the need to explore applicable strategies for the sensing, decontamination and/or detoxification of these compounds,” said Giuseppe Manco, corresponding author at the National Research Council of Italy. CLRI researchers said the next step is to translate the material into portable kits, possibly combined with smartphone-based readouts, to enable faster and more accessible detection of hazardous organophosphate compounds outside laboratory conditions. “It establishes newer avenues and mechanisms for the portable, accessible, easy and cost-effective detection of OP contamination through smartphone integration,” said Vernerk.