The chemical warfare agents and neurotoxic agents are an important threat to people all over the world, and require special attention because they are highly dangerous. Most of these agents are neurotoxic organophosphorus compounds (OP), which inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is responsible for controlling the transmission of nerve impulses. To be inhibited by these compounds, AChE can sometimes be reactivated using cationic oximes, which are the most used substances for this reactivation. Until today there have not been discovered agents for complete treatment of poisoning by all OPs. For this reason, the treatment of intoxicated people requires the determination of the absorbed OP, in order to select the appropriate activator, a process that usually requires long time and may cause death. Therefore, this study aims to do a review on the OPs used as chemical warfare agents and the process of inhibition and reactivation of AChE, especially to motivate the development of new agents for defense against chemical weapons, a process that is very important for protecting all humanity.

Keywords: acetylcholinesterase; AChE reactivators; organophosphorus; oximes; warfare agents