Abstract: Methods of rapidly detecting the presence of chemical warfare agents, cheal warfare agent precursors and degradation products thereof are disclosed. The methods are useful, for example, in screening chemical sample unknowns in Chemical Warfare Convention (CWC) inspections. The methods include contacting a sample suspected of containing chemical warfare agents, precursors, chemical warfare agent degradation products and mixtures thereof with a sufficient amount of a chromatographic adsorbent material and a sufficient amount of a chromogenic detector reagent whereby a chromogenic indicator is formed when the sample contains chemical warfare agent, precursors or degradation product thereof. A kit useful for carrying out the method is also disclosed. The test methods can be used, either alone or in combination with thin-layer chromatography, to provide presumptive evidence for CWC analytes without actually identifying any of the components of the samples.

Abstract: Novel 4,4'-dithiodianil compounds are prepared by reacting 4,4'-dithiodianiline with an aromatic or pyridine aldehyde, such as 4-nitrobenzaldehyde. The novel dithiodianil compounds can be employed for detecting thiol compounds. They react with thiols to yield reaction products which possess a different color from the novel dithiodianil compound itself. The color change obtained in this manner with the novel compounds in many cases is stronger than that obtained with Ellman's reagent frequently employed for detecting thiols.