Synthetic micromotors might provide a faster, better way to decontaminate nerve agents.

Converting harmful organophosphate chemicals, such as sarin, into innocuous substances requires high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and constant stirring over long periods. Such conditions are challenging when eliminating chemical-weapons stockpiles in remote or hostile locations.

Joseph Wang at the University of California, San Diego, and his team overcame these requirements using micromotors made of polymers tipped with platinum. These zip around the contaminated fluid, propelled by bubbles that are produced as platinum reacts with peroxide. In small-volume lab tests, this micromixing neutralized nerve agents at low peroxide concentrations and without external stirring.

Two out of three nerve agents tested with micromotors were almost completely detoxified within 40 minutes. The strategy could provide a general method to accelerate reactions, the authors say.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. http://doi.org/f2ndgr (2013)