Companies bring war to nanoscale to combat unseen bio/chem enemies

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May 8, 2003 — One of the many take-home lessons for the United States and its allies after the 1991 Persian Gulf War was a need for better protection against biological and chemical weapons. Years after the conflict, soldiers complained of ailments they believed resulted from exposure to the Iraqi regime’s arsenal.

More than a decade later, several companies are turning to nanotechnology to counter the threats of biological and chemical warfare. Their efforts range from gloves and gear that block out toxic chemicals and germs to fabrics and powders that deactivate and destroy the deadly agents. Military and university research labs also are developing protective skin creams, emulsions and even drugs to reduce the dangers.

The first beneficiaries of these efforts likely will be the workers on the home front who clean up hazardous wastes or respond to intentional releases. In early June, Kansas-based NanoScale Materials Inc. is expected to offer a commercial nanotechnology-based product that neutralizes toxic chemicals. “(Military usage) was the point of the research for a number of years,” said Tom Allen, NanoScale’s vice president of marketing and sales.

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NanoScale was founded in 1995 to design and manufacture reactive nanomaterials that destroy chemicals such as skin-blistering sulfur mustard. But the company recognized that the hazardous-materials teams, first responders and civilian support groups formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks also face life-threatening exposures. “That’s our core competency, to neutralize chemical warfare agents,” Allen said. “Then we learned it was effective against toxic industrial chemicals.”

NanoScale will market a dry powder dubbed FAST ACT — for First Applied Sorbent Treatment Against Chemical Threats — that decomposes toxic chemicals. The powder contains reactive nanoparticles that attract and then break down at least 24 commonly transported toxic chemicals, including some acids. Unlike foams, the powder needn’t be wet to be effective, Allen said, and works on liquids and vapors.

The government’s investment in development of chemical and biological defense — about a half-billion dollars in 2002 — is expected to lead to even more products in the coming years. Like NanoScale, some companies foresee their technologies finding applications in the civilian as well as military sectors.

TDA Research Inc. and Triton Systems Inc. say their nanoscale materials may provide a safe barrier against debilitating chemicals. TDA is making a nanocomposite to replace butyl rubber in protective gloves, while Triton is developing nanocomposite materials based on its polymer-clay technology for lightweight protective gear. Triton’s materials also may prove effective against germs and other biological threats.

Gentex Corp. in Carbondale, Pa., is collaborating with NanoScale to attach reactive nanomaterials onto cloth for chemical-neutralizing uniforms. Innovative Chemical and Environment Technologies (ICET) of Norwood, Mass., also designs deactivating fabrics. It relies on nanocomposites that can destroy biological and chemical threats. Suits made of the nanocomposite fabric are undergoing field tests and a product could be available by late 2004, said ICET President Shantha Sarangapani.

Nanomaterials Research Corp. in Colorado has proposed using nanoparticles to neutralize the toxic residue in containers or shells from unconventional weapons. Once neutralized, the canisters could be safely removed from the site.

One research team also said nanomaterials could play a role as an anthrax antibiotic. Rice University chemists have found that antibodies that latch onto dormant anthrax spores and drugs that destroy anthrax could be linked to the spherical carbon molecule fullerene to make an antibiotic. The drug would kick in when an inhaled spore germinates, killing the anthrax before it releases deadly amounts of toxin.

“If you’ll be exposed, or were exposed within 24 hours, there would be a good chance of eliminating the problem,” said Lon Wilson, a chemistry professor who is helping develop similar fullerene-based drugs for cancer and bone treatments. He added that his research group is in the most preliminary stages of investigating antibiotics such as vancomycin for anthrax infections.

Wednesday: Small tech battle-tested in Iraq
Tomorrow: Military eager to end ‘false positives’ plague

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