Preparation of skin decontamination lotion for chemical weapon agent removal and neutralization

Reactive skin decontamination lotion (RSDL) is an excellent decontamination tool for chemical warfare agent skin decontamination and often used as a first line defence kits during conflicts involving these agents as weapons. However, the kits that are used in this country are imported products, therefore, in addition to the very much dependency on the foreign technology, it is relatively expensive and hardly accessible in Malaysia, which consequently can be a big threat to the country depend and security. This study describes details of a study that aims to investigate performances of the prepared decontamination lotions in terms of its stability and efficiency. The lotions were formulated using five different oil to water weight ratios of 6:4, 5:5, 4:6, 3:7 and 2:8 and evaluated for their physical appearances, microscopic images, pH, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis and emulsion stability. The results show that the lotion with oil to water ratio of 3:7 gives an optimum texture oflotion and stability 'With no presence of microbial growth when compared to the others. Pralidoxime (2-PAM) was chosen as the active ingredient due to its a-effect nucleophilic reactivity and formation of p- nitrophenol as the byproduct when reacted with paraoxon. The lotion with oil to water ratio of 3:7 was then further studied by incorporating 2-PAM of five different concentrations which were 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0% and 5.0%. The effect of 2-PAM concentration on emulsion consistency, physical properties and phase stability over time were investigated. It was found that the lotion with 1.0% 2-PAM content has an excellent stability compared with the other formulations. In addition, FTIR analysis carried out to determine the lotion efficiency to degrade the tested pesticide, paraoxon, shows that the 2-PAM incorporated lotion exhibits a peak shift in the region of from 1500 to 1000 cm"' suggesting the formation of p-nitrophenol. the product of the pesticide hydrolysis. It can be, therefore, concluded that the 1.0% 2-PAM incorporated lotion with 3:7 oil to water ratio evinced to be the most suitable formulation for producing the skin organophosphate decontamination lotion.