[AshleyMatt (OP)]

Hi The Naked Scientists members,

I'm Ashley, an independent feature film producer, director and writer.  I'm making my third feature film that involves a chemical engineer turned spy who is trying to evade assassination (she's expecting to be taken out by a nerve agent).  Sounds dramatic, I know - but I suppose noir psychological spy thrillers should be a bit dramatic, right?

As it stands I've written some material that sees my spy collecting drugs from a pharmacy, including naloxone, to mix with an unidentified chemical compound given to her by her spy ring leader.  The idea is she administers the cocktail to herself (dropping a few drops in her coffee every day) as a method of blocking the attack (she doesn't know when it will happen).  I'm no chemical engineer and I'm not sure there is even such a possibility.

I wonder if the beautiful hive mind of thenakedscientists.com would be able to help me understand this, or guide me in a somewhat plausible direction.  Like which over the counter drugs, mixed or unmixed, could act as a nerve agent (let's say like Novichok) blocker - something that could be taken in advance.  Further to that, how would you mix them to create the blocker. 

A tall order I'm sure...but I'm curious.  I'd like to meet science halfway in my drama - to at least make an attempt at realism.

 

Thank you everyone for your time and consideration.  It means a lot to this indie movie maker!

 

Ashley

[chiralSPO]

Naloxone (which is an antidote for opiate overdoses) will not protect from nerve agents (which interfere with cholinergic pathways). There are antidotes for these, but I don't think that they are really suitable for preventative use.

Some drugs/agents act by blocking cholinergic signals (like atropine), and can be used as antidotes against agents that amplify chloinergic signals (like novichok or VX). But without the competing nerve agent to balance out, the drug itself is quite toxic (one of the primary active ingredients in deadly nightshade), so you wouldn't want to take high levels of this kind of antidote preventatively. It has been known since antiquity that antidotes are often poisons themselves.

There are other drugs that don't just block the action of a nerve agent, but actually block the agent itself, or reverse the damage, like pralidoxime. This is probably not as toxic by itself, and I suppose could potentially be used prophylactically,  but dosage is quite high, and I am not sure that it would be healthy or financially viable to be on a continuous regimen of that...

[AshleyMatt (OP)]

Naloxone (which is an antidote for opiate overdoses) will not protect from nerve agents (which interfere with cholinergic pathways). There are antidotes for these, but I don't think that they are really suitable for preventative use.

Some drugs/agents act by blocking cholinergic signals (like atropine), and can be used as antidotes against agents that amplify chloinergic signals (like novichok or VX). But without the competing nerve agent to balance out, the drug itself is quite toxic (one of the primary active ingredients in deadly nightshade), so you wouldn't want to take high levels of this kind of antidote preventatively. It has been known since antiquity that antidotes are often poisons themselves.

There are other drugs that don't just block the action of a nerve agent, but actually block the agent itself, or reverse the damage, like pralidoxime. This is probably not as toxic by itself, and I suppose could potentially be used prophylactically,  but dosage is quite high, and I am not sure that it would be healthy or financially viable to be on a continuous regimen of that...

Thank you chiralSPO.  I appreciate your consideration and suggestions.  I will look in to this further.  Thanks again!

[wolfekeeper]

Pyridostigmine bromide is available in pill form, and was given prophylatically to desert storm troops, and is apparently available at most chemists presumably under prescription. I've no idea if it works for many nerve agents, it may well not, but people would probably let you off if it's for a movie. Its use is possibly implicated in Gulf War Syndrome. (Don't expect it works for Novichok).

[AshleyMatt (OP)]

Pyridostigmine bromide is available in pill form, and was given prophylatically to desert storm troops, and is apparently available at most chemists presumably under prescription. I've no idea if it works for many nerve agents, it may well not, but people would probably let you off if it's for a movie. Its use is possibly implicated in Gulf War Syndrome. (Don't expect it works for Novichok).

Thank you wolfekeeper.  I will do some research based on this info.  Appreciate it!

[Bored chemist]

It doesn't really matter if your story is absolutely technically correct- make up some drug that does the job and make up a disease that it's "normally" used to treat.

[AshleyMatt (OP)]

It doesn't really matter if your story is absolutely technically correct- make up some drug that does the job and make up a disease that it's "normally" used to treat.

Thank you Bored chemist.  That is an approach I'll consider.