WA blister agent, or vesicant, is a chemical compound that causes severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation. They are named for their ability to cause severe chemical burns, resulting in painful water blisters on the bodies of those affected. Although the term is often used in connection with large-scale burns caused by chemical spills or chemical warfare agents, some naturally occurring substances such as cantharidin are also blister-producing agents (vesicants). Furanocoumarin, another naturally occurring substance, causes vesicant-like effects indirectly, for example, by increasing skin photosensitivity greatly. Vesicants have medical uses including wart removal but can be fatal if even small amounts are ingested.
WCantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiacs. In its natural form, cantharidin is secreted by the male blister beetle and given to the female as a copulatory gift during mating. Afterwards, the female beetle covers her eggs with it as a defense against predators.
WDibutylchloromethyltin chloride (DBCT) is a toxic organotin compound. It's a potent and irreversible ATP synthase inhibitor. DBCT is a volatile liquid with powerful vesicant effects.
WKB-16 is a nitrosocarbamate vesicant.
WLyngbyatoxin-a is a cyanotoxin produced by certain cyanobacteria species, most notably Moorea producens. It is produced as defense mechanism to ward off any would-be predators of the bacterium, being a potent blister agent as well as carcinogen. Low concentrations cause a common skin condition known as seaweed dermatitis.
WMustard gas, though technically not a gas and often called sulfur mustard by scholarly sources, is the prototypical substance of the sulfur-based family of cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agents, which can form large blisters on exposed skin and in the lungs. They have a long history of use as a blister-agent in warfare and, along with organoarsenic compounds such as Lewisite, are the most well-studied of such agents. Related chemical compounds with similar chemical structure and similar properties form a class of compounds known collectively as sulfur mustards or mustard agents. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature. When used in impure form, such as warfare agents, they are usually yellow-brown and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic, or horseradish, hence the name. The common name of "mustard gas" is inaccurate because the sulfur mustard is not actually vaporized, but dispersed as a fine mist of liquid droplets. Mustard gas was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method of large-scale production for the Imperial German Army in 1916.
WNitrogen mustards are cytotoxic organic compounds with the chloroethylamine (Cl(CH2)2NR2) functional group. Although originally produced as chemical warfare agents, they were the first chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of cancer. Nitrogen mustards are nonspecific DNA alkylating agents.
WPederin is a vesicant toxic amide with two tetrahydropyran rings, found in the haemolymph of the beetle genus Paederus, including the Nairobi fly, belonging to the family Staphylinidae. It was first characterized by processing 25 million field-collected P. fuscipes. It makes up approximately 0.025% of an insects weight.
WT-2 Mycotoxin is a trichothecene mycotoxin. It is a naturally occurring mold byproduct of Fusarium spp. fungus which is toxic to humans and animals. The clinical condition it causes is alimentary toxic aleukia and a host of symptoms related to organs as diverse as the skin, airway, and stomach. Ingestion may come from consumption of moldy whole grains. T-2 can be absorbed through human skin. Although no significant systemic effects are expected after dermal contact in normal agricultural or residential environments, local skin effects can not be excluded. Hence, skin contact with T-2 should be limited.