title: Skin decontamination efficacy of potassium ketoxime on rabbits exposed to sulfur mustard.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The chemical weapon sulfur mustard (SM) is a blister agent, and currently, there is no effective antidote.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the decontamination efficacy of potassium ketoxime against SM and preliminarily elucidate its decontamination mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Potassium ketoxime reacted with SM, and SM residues were tested at different time intervals by T-135 colorimetry after the reaction. Rabbit skin was topically exposed to 2 mg/cm(2) SM, treated with potassium ketoxime 1 min later, and observed after 6, 12, and 24 h. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was employed to screen and identify the main products of potassium ketoxime decontamination of SM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Potassium ketoxime had a great effect against SM contamination. With a mass ratio of decontaminant: SM of 50:1, decontamination rates against SM were 87.5% after 30 s, 95.9% after 1 min, and 99.0% after 5 min. Fifteen minutes after exposure to SM, the untreated group showed clear erythema lesions, whereas the experimental group showed no clear erythema lesions within 6 h. After 12 and 24 h, the areas of damaged skin in the experimental group were 0.038 and 0.125 cm(2), respectively, compared with 2.21 and 2.65 cm(2) in the control group. Histopathological analysis revealed that treatment with potassium ketoxime also reduced inflammation-induced damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study indicate that potassium ketoxime reacted rapidly and completely with SM, and thus, it was found to be a suitable and effective skin decontaminant against SM. The decontamination reaction mechanism is mainly related to nucleophilic substitution.
authors.affiliation: The 208th Hospital , Changchun , China .
authors.forename: Jing-Hai
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Pei-Pei
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Hong-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bao-Quan
authors.initials: BQ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Guo-Min
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yu-Xu
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D010091:Oximes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011817:Rabbits; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D010091:Oximes; D009151:Mustard Gas
keywords: Chemical warfare agent; decontaminant; potassium ketoxime; sulfur mustard