Route sourcing of the organophosphorus nerve agent Sarin using non-targeted screening of chemical attribution signatures

Nerve agents like VX, Novichok and sarin are fearful chemical warfare agents (CWAs) that has been used in terrorist attacks, war and assassinations with political motives.Chemical analysis can identify the CWA used in such an attack.

Moreover, chemical attribution can provide critical information on how the CWA was produced to assist the forensic investigation.The project goal is to develop methods, based upon chemical analysis and multivariate data analysis, that can provide information on how a nerve agent was produced.

Such forensic information can be used to find the people responsible for the crime, which is the project impact goal.Sarin will be produced using multiple synthesis routes and samples will be analyzed using non-targeted HRMS.

Route attribution methods for sarin will be developed, utilizing the fact that synthesized nerve agents contain impurities that together constitute a chemical fingerprint that is unique for its production method.

Route classification models will be built and validated.Sarin and many of the impurities are reactive why the chemical profiles of sarin will change when exposed to the environment. Differences between synthesized sarin and sarin spiked to environmental matrices will therefore be mapped out.

A derivatization protocol will be tested in order to improve reproducibility of sarin profiling and the robustness of the method in general.The work (duration 4-years) will be made by CWA experts using national facilities at FOI.