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Nerve agents degraded by enzymatic foams

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Abstract

The decontamination of large areas that have been exposed to chemical weapons is a critical component of defence and anti-terrorist strategies around the world1,2,3. Until now, nerve agents could be decontaminated only with bleach treatment and/or ex situ incineration4, which had severe environmental consequences. Small-scale methods of decontamination and demilitarization are available, but the problem of decontamination over a wide area has not been solved2,3. Here we incorporate organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH), an enzyme that hydrolyses nerve agents, into aqueous fire-fighting foams to catalyse surface decontamination. The performance of enzyme-containing foams is reproducible and predictable in detoxifying organophosphorus nerve toxins deposited onto surfaces. Such foams are an environmentally friendly alternative to current decontamination solutions, which are nonspecific in their action and contain significant amounts of hazardous organic solvents.

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Figure 1: OPH foam performance on paraoxon-contaminated glass surfaces.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 15213, Pennsylvania, USA

    Keith E. LeJeune

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M, College Station, Texas, 77843-2128, USA

    James R. Wild

  3. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, 15261, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan J. Russell

Authors
  1. Keith E. LeJeune
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  2. James R. Wild
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  3. Alan J. Russell
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LeJeune, K., Wild, J. & Russell, A. Nerve agents degraded by enzymatic foams. Nature 395, 27–28 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/25634

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