VX fatalities occur with exposure to tens of milligram quantities via inhalation or absorption through skin VX is thus more potent than sarin, another nerve agent with a similar mechanism of action. It is now one of a broader V-series of agents which are classified as nerve agents and have been used as a chemical weapon in various recorded deadly attacks. VX, short for "venomous agent X", is one of the best known of the V nerve agents and was first discovered at Porton Down by Ranajit Ghosh in England during the early 1950s based on research first done by Gerhard Schrader, a chemist working for IG Farben in Germany during the 1930s. Because of its low volatility, VX persists in environments where it is dispersed. In its pure form, VX is an oily, relatively non-volatile liquid that is amber-like in colour. In recent years, VX was found to be the agent used in the assassination of Kim Jong-nam. In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research. VX is an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus class, specifically, a thiophosphonate.
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