Jul. 15, 2010  13  US 2010/0179368 Al  oxide and peroxyacetic acid. These two compounds represent  entirely different groups of chemical compounds. A peroxide  is a compound containing an oxygen-oxygen single bond,  while peroxy acids ( also known as peroxyacids and peracids)  are acids in which an acidic -OH group has been replaced by  an -OOH group. Peroxides and peroxy acid have the general  structures:  oxide anions, and will generate 2 moles of peroxyacetic acid,  which, in tum, form percarboxylate anions and/or singlet  oxygen. These oxidizer molecules can react with a threat load  oftoxant, and neutralize/remove the toxant without the pro› duction of toxic by-products.  [0109]  In the present invention, hydroperoxide anions,  which perhydrolzye the reactive oxygen species, are pro› duced by the chain propagation reaction to generate percar› boxylate anions and singlet oxygens:  [0105]  Peroxides tend to decompose easily and can some› times initiate explosive reactions. Peroxy acids are generally  not very stable in solution and decompose to ordinary oxy› acids and oxygen. One novel discovery of the present inven› tion is that dry sources of the peroxides, and separately, dry  sources of the peroxy acids, such as TAED, are stable when  dissolved in the organic/aqueous solutions of the invention,  and require activation for maximum efficacy and speed  against chemical and biological agents, including, but not  limited to, aromatic hydrocarbons, mustards, environmental  mutagens, organophosphate pesticides, nerve agents and bac› teria.  [0106]  Hydrogen peroxide decontaminates chemical war› fare agents (CWAs) more efficiently in alkaline solutions that  generate Hoo-. In some instances, the alkaline perhydrolysis  process is considerably faster than analogous alkaline  hydrolysis or neutral oxidation processes. This is attributed to  an increased nucleophilicity of HOO-due to the presence of  a lone pair of electrons on the oxygen atom adjacent to the  nucleophilic centre. This phenomenon is referred to as the  ’a-effect’. Although not fully understood, a-effects are his› torically considered not to occur in the absence of solvent.  However, the observed chemistry of modified vaporous  hydrogen peroxide (m VHP) is analogous to the alkaline per› hydrolysis chemistry observed in solution. Some of the many  difficulties observed using modified vaporous hydrogen per› oxide as a CBW decontaminant are: (i) the rapid outgassing of  H$_{2}$O$_{2 }$ under alkaline conditions, resulting in a short effective  pot life; (ii) the caustic character of the alkaline solutions  needed to create mVHP; (iii) mVHP can only be used in  enclosed spaces in which heated  dry  air must be circulated to  reduce the relative humidity and avoid condensation of  hydrogen peroxide and water during decontamination, and,  (iv) the production of toxic by-products produced when  m VHP is the primary reactive oxygen species.  [0107]  Peroxy-oxidizers, including but not limited to, per› oxycarboxylic acids such as peroxyacetic acid, and dry  sources thereof, can dissolve in the isotropic organic/aqueous  solutions of the polar amphipathic organic components of the  present inventions. When appropriately activated, these com› pounds can generate oxidizing agents which (i) overcome the  limitations of m VHP; and (ii) accelerate the hydrolysis of  phosphate esters, mustards, as well as the phospholipids,  proteins and oligonucleotides of bacteria, spores and viruses.  [0108]  As discussed above, a molecule of the reactive oxy› gen species tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) is perhydro› lyzed at the appropriate pH by activators such as hydroper- The desired percarboxylate anions and singlet oxygens can› not be generated from either hydrogen peroxide alone and  cannot be generated using sodium hypochlorite, but only  from the generation of peroxyacetic acid and its oxidizers  from TAED. Moreover, these compounds react with organo› phosphates, mustards, bacteria, spores, and viruses via very  different reaction pathways and mechanisms from those gen› erated by activation of hydrogen peroxide or sodium  hypochlorite. These different reaction pathways can be  exploited to increase the efficacy of the decontamination  solutions of the invention and to avoid the creation of hazard› ous by-products.  [0110]  In order to be most effective in a decontaminant  made from the organic/aqueous solutions of the present  invention, the reactive oxygen species should be able to dis› solve in sufficient amounts to achieve stoichiometric hydroly› sis and/or perhydrolysis of the toxants. The term "reactive  oxygen species" ("ROS") refers to peroxides or peroxyacids,  whereas the term "oxidizers" refers to reactive oxygen which  may be in the form of hydroxyl radicals (from peroxides) or  peroxycarboxylic anions and singlet oxygen (from peroxy  acids). As a group, reactive oxygen species include, but are  not limited to, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite ion, and per› oxyacetic acid (PAA). These compounds require some type of  activation process during which one or more molecules are  split to generate the oxidizing agents. Such oxidizing agents  include, but are not limited to, hydroxyl radicals, or peroxy› acetic anions and singlet oxygens, which may go on to par› ticipate in further chemical reactions with toxants.  [0111]  The term "radical" or "free radical" refers to a clus› ter of atoms, one of which contains an unpaired electron in its  outermost shell of electrons. The term "hydroxyl" describes a  molecule consisting of an oxygen atom and a hydrogen atom  joined by a covalent bond. The neutral form is known as a  hydroxyl radical and the singly-charged hydroxyl anion is  called hydroxide. Hydroxyl radicals are an unstable configu› ration, and such radicals generally quickly react with other  molecules or other radicals to achieve the stable configuration  of four pairs of electrons in their outermost shell ( or one pair  for hydrogen).  [0112]  Other embodiments of the invention are organic/  aqueous solutions comprising one or more reactive oxygen  species, further comprising one or more chemical activators  to generate the oxidizer(s). When dissolved, the peroxycar› boxylic acids require activation to generate the peroxy anions  or singlet oxygen atoms which are the actual oxidizers of the  toxants. Methods of activation include, but are not limited to:  (i) changing the pH of the solution by adding an alkaline base  such as sodium hydroxide to the decontamination mixture;  (ii) changing the pH by employing buffering systems that  R-O-O-R’  Peroixdes  Peroxy acids  H0$_{2}$.+0$_{2}$. --H0 2  - +0 2 