[1] It is a member of the G-series family of nerve agents, a group of chemical weapons discovered and synthesized by a German team led by Gerhard Schrader.

Next came sarin, soman and finally, cyclosarin, a product of commercial insecticide laboratories prior to World War II.

At room temperature, cyclosarin is a colorless liquid whose odor has been variously described as sweet and musty,[2] or resembling peaches or shellac.

First synthesized during World War II as part of Nazi Germany's chemical weapons research on organophosphate compounds after their military potential was recognized, cyclosarin was also studied later in the United States and Great Britain in the early 1950s as part of a systematic study of potential nerve agents.

To date, Iraq is the only nation known to have manufactured significant quantities of cyclosarin for use as a chemical agent and to deploy it in battle.