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entirely different buffering capacity as compared to solutions which comprise monoprotic solvents from Group II. Simi› larly, it will be known to one skilled in the art having the present specification as their guide that all equilibrium con› stants vary with temperature according to the van’t Hoff equa› tion, and that some solvents will be more likely to promote ionization of a dissolved acidic molecule if the organic/aque› ous solution comprises: 

[0143] a protic organic solvent, capable of forming hydrogen bonds; 

[0144] a solvent with a high donor number, making it a strong Lewis base; and/or 

[0145] a solvent with a high dielectric constant, making it a good solvent for ionic species. 

[0146] Dimtheylsulfoxide (DMSO) has a lower dielectric constant than water, is less polar, dissolves non-polar, hydro› phobic substances more readily, and has a measurable pKa range of about 1 to 30. Acetonitrile is less basic than DMSO. Also, acids are generally weaker and bases are generally stronger in this solvent. Some pKa values at 25° C. for aceto› nitrile and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are shown in the Table 5, where values for water are included for comparison. 

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[0147] There are many factors that affect pKa values. For example, Pauling’s second rule states that the value of the first pKa for acids of the formula XOm(OH)n is approximately independent of n and X and is approximately 8 for m=0, 2 for m=l, -3 for m=2 and <-10 for m=3. This correlates with the oxidation state of the central atom, X: the higher the oxidation state the stronger the oxyacid. For example, pKa for HClO is 7.2, for HC1O$_{2 }$ is 2.0, for HC1O$_{3 }$ is -1 and HC1O$_{4 }$ is a strong acid. With organic acids like the percarboxylic acids, induc› tive effects and mesomeric effects affect the pKa values. A simple example is provided by the effect of replacing the hydrogen atoms in acetic acid by the more electronegative chlorine atom. The electron-withdrawing effect of the sub› stituent makes ionization easier, so successive pKa values decrease in the series 4.7, 2.8, 1.3, and 0.7 when 0, 1, 2 or 3 chlorine atoms are present. The Hammett equation, provides a general expression for the effect of substituents: 

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where Ka is the dissociation constant of a substituted com› pound, Ka $^{O }$is the dissociation constant when the substituent is 

hydrogen.pis a property of the unsubstituted compound, and a has a particular value for each substituent. A plot of log Ka against a is a straight line with intercept log Ka $^{O }$and slope p. This is an example of a linear free energy relationship as log Ka is proportional to the standard fee energy change. Ham› mett originally formulated the relationship with data from benzoic acid with different substituents in the ortho- and para-positions: some numerical values are in Hammett equa› tion. This and other studies allowed substituents to be ordered according to their electron-withdrawing or electron-releasing power. These allow a solution to be tailored for the toxants to be decontaminated and their location. 

[0148] One aspect of the present invention is the use of mixed solvents to create decontaminant formulations which can dissolve threat loads of amphipathic compounds like the nerve or mustard agents and their respective simulants that have limited solubility in water. It is a common practice (in the pharmaceutical industry, for example) to determine pKa values in solvent mixture such as water/dioxane or water/ octanol, in which the compound is more soluble. In the example shown FIG. 4, the pKa value rises steeply with increasing percentage of 1,4-dioxane, a GROUP III solvent with two hydrogen bond acceptors, as the dielectric constant of the mixture is decreasing. A pKa value obtained in a mixed solvent cannot be used directly for aqueous solutions, because when the solvent is in its standard state, its activity is defined as one. 

[0149] For example, the standard stateofwater:dioxane 9:1 is precisely that solvent mixture with no added solutes. To obtain the pKa value for use with aqueous solutions it has to be extrapolated to zero co-solvent concentration from values obtained from various co-solvent mixtures. These factors are frequently forgotten by those having ordinary skill in the art, owing to the omission of the solvent effect from the expres› sion for acid dissociation constants. This is normally used to define pKa, but pKa values obtained in a given mixed solvent can be compared to each other, giving relative acid strengths. The same is true of pKa values obtained in a particular non› aqueous solvent such a DMSO. As of November of 2008, no universal, solvent-independent scale for acid dissociation constants had been developed, since there was no known way to compare the standard states of two different solvents. Given that there is no basis for any type of comparison between solvents, the pKa values of the peroxyacids of the present invention and the buffer systems for chemical activa› tion are novel to the present invention. 

[0150] The total amount of peroxy-oxidant used can vary according to the embodiments of the invention. The total decontaminant to toxant ratio can range from about 100 to about 0.1. The solutions of the invention can be used for hydrolyzing a substrate in an organic/aqueous solution by providing both the toxant and the oxidizers with an isotropic solution in which to react. According to another embodiment of the invention, toxant hydrolyses can be conducted from between about -35° F. and 140° F. In another embodiment of the invention, substrate hydrolysis reactions are conducted between about-25° F. and about 125° F. The total decontami› nant to toxant ratio by volume can range from about 100 to about 0.1. 

[0151] Biopathogens used for biological warfare, such as bacterial cells, bacterial spores, viruses, and other biopatho› gens have certain structural features that must be considered. The organization and structure of phospholipids and proteins in cell membranes, spore coats and viral capsids can be 

