Abstract Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are unarguably one of the most feared toxic substances produced by mankind. Their inception in conventional warfare can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages but their full breakthrough as central players in bellic conflicts was not realized until World War I. Since then, more modern CWAs along with efficient methods for their manufacture have emerged and violently shaped the way modern warfare and diplomatic relations are conducted. Owing to their mass destruction ability, counter methods to mitigate their impact appeared almost immediately on par with their development. These efforts have focused on their efficient destruction, development of medical countermeasures and their detection by modern analytical chemistry methods. The following review seeks to provide the reader with a broad introduction on their direct detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the various sample derivatization methods available for the analysis of their degradation products. The review concentrates on three of the main CWA classes and includes the nerve agents, the blistering agents and lastly, the incapacitating agents. Each section begins with a brief introduction of the CWA along with discussions of reports dealing with their detection in the intact form by GC-MS. Furthermore, as products arising from their degradation carry as much importance as the agents themselves in the field of forensic analysis, the available derivatization methods of these species are presented for each CWA highlighting some examples from our lab in the Forensic Science Center at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

中文翻译：

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用气相色谱-质谱法分析化学战剂：直接检测方法和分析其降解产物的衍生方法

摘要 化学战剂（CWAs）无疑是人类产生的最可怕的有毒物质之一。它们在常规战争中的起源可以追溯到中世纪，但直到第一次世界大战才实现了它们在战争中作为核心参与者的全面突破。从那时起，更现代的 CWA 及其有效的制造方法已经出现并猛烈地出现塑造了现代战争和外交关系的方式。由于它们的大规模杀伤能力，减轻其影响的反方法几乎立即与它们的发展相提并论。这些努力集中在它们的有效破坏、医学对策的开发和现代分析化学方法的检测上。以下综述旨在为读者提供有关其通过气相色谱-质谱法 (GC-MS) 直接检测的广泛介绍，以及可用于分析其降解产物的各种样品衍生方法。审查集中在三个主要的 CWA 类别上，包括神经性毒剂、起泡性毒剂，最后是失能性毒剂。每个部分都以对 CWA 的简要介绍开始，并讨论了用 GC-MS 以完整形式进行检测的报告。此外，由于降解产生的产品在法医分析领域与试剂本身一样重要，