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Novitjok is one of the most toxic nerve gases in the developed world in the Cold War Soviet Union. Its properties and chemical structure are secret and only the military organizations know them through intelligence. What distinguishes it from other nerve gases is that it is binary, that is, it consists of two relatively harmless substances that are stored separately and are only lethal when mixed. A very small drop is deadly.
What always exists it is a phosphorous atom with a double bond to an oxygen atom and usually a bond to a fluorine atom. Usually there is a group that is almost always just a carbon atom, but it can have an oxygen atom attached to it. A third detail in novitjok is a nitrogen atom and on it is a group; that’s what this group is about, which chemists disagree on.
Ulf Ellervik, professor of chemistry at the University of Lund, in novitjok:
How does novitjok enter the body?
In all known cases, it has entered the body through the skin. If Navalny had drunk it, he would surely have died immediately, that is, someone could have applied novitjok to the cup, his plane ticket, a bank card or something similar.
What happens in the body?
Nerve gas stops the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, whose job is to break down acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that connects nerves, especially muscles and glands. This means that the nerves are constantly sending signals and the whole system is exhausted.
What symptoms do you have?
All muscles contract, saliva and sweat flow, eyes and nose run, lungs foam, pupils contract – each secretion begins. Acetylcholine is also found in the brain, which can render you unconscious and lead to a coma. With all the fluid formation, it is clearly possible to drown. The time to stop poisoning is measured in minutes, which can be compared to relative sarin where it is a matter of hours.
How to lift poisoning?
Atropine is an effective antidote. The drug is toxic in itself and with an overdose you run the risk of dying of paralysis, that is, you have to weigh the dose against the probable amount of novitjok. Most nerve gases are released after a while and the body can expel them, but this particular nerve gas binds to acetylcholinesterase and runs the risk of destroying the nerves permanently.
