An enzyme containing microemulsion based on skin friendly oil and surfactant as decontamination medium for organo phosphates: Phase behavior, structure, and enzyme activity

• A skin friendly microemulsion could be made with technical grade components.
• The obtained microemuslion follows the behavior known from model systems.
• The enzyme DFPase still is active in this microemulsion despite the alcohol content.
• The activity still is sufficiently high to be useful for skin decontamination.

The present contribution presents a microemulsion system containing cosmetic oil and sugar surfactant and the enzyme diisopropyl fluorophosphatase (DFPase) as active agent for the decontamination of human skin. The bicontinuous structure and the physical properties of the microemulsion are characterized by dynamic light scattering and small angle neutron scattering. The DFPase from the squid Loligo vulgaris is catalyzing the hydrolysis of highly toxic organophosphates. The effect of the enzyme on the structure of the microemulsion is investigated. Moreover, the enzyme/microemulsion system is also studied with respect to its activity using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy leading to promising results. A fast decomposition of the nerve agent sarin is achieved.

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