Biological weapons detection

A Skeptical Analysis of Chemical and Biological Weapons Detection Schemes... 

A SKEPTICAL ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS DETECTION SCHEMES... 

The National Institute of Justice has put together multivolume compendiums of instrumentation relevant to chemical and biological weapons detection. However, none of these books contains a critical review of the effectiveness of the technologies. One instrument included in the publication is a portable, handheld, ion mobility spectrometry chemical agent monitor with moderate to high selectivity, but only when used in open spaces, far from vapor sources such as smoke, cleaning compounds, and fumes. This would seem to make it useless in the battlefield. Another listed chemical agent monitor has a below 5% false positive rate. With one in 20 false positives, no one could reasonably act upon an alarm. 

Peruski, L. F. Peruski, A. H. Rapid diagnostic assays in the genomic biology era Detection and identification of infectious disease and biological weapon agents. BioTechniques 2003, 35, 840-846. 

Thus there are two separate and distinct missions of any system designed to detect both chemical and biological weapons, namely Detect to Warn and Detect to Treat. The presence of a chemical agent must be detected immediately in order to warn troops to put on protective gear. Biological agents must be detected and identified promptly in order to minimize the number of exposed troops however, immediate death or incapacitation is not likely. Instead, early detection allows early treatment and lower mortality rates. 

Combat medicine poses special problems. Chemical science and technology can aid in the rapid detection and treatment of injuries from chemical and biological weapons and other new weapons such as lasers. We need to develop blood substitutes with a long shelf life, and improved biocompatible materials for dealing with wounds. For the Navy, there are special needs such as analytical systems that can sample the seawater to detect and identify other vessels. We need good ways to detect mines, both at sea and on land. Land mines present a continued threat to civilians after hostilities have ended, and chemical techniques are needed to detect these explosive devices. 

Loss of life or property from a terrorist attack at home or on om troops on a battlefield wonld be minimized or possibly prevented by the capability to detect the presence of chemical, biological, or radiological agents anywhere in the world. Detection capabilities are also reqnired at borders and U.S. ports of entry, where shipping containers and vehicles shonld be checked for evidence of chemical weapons, biological weapons, and explosives. Beyond detection, the capability to nnambignonsly identify observed threat agents is required to maximize the effectiveness of our response. 

However, during the last 10 years, several groups have developed miniature and mobile mass spectrometers. Although these instruments were built for environmental applications, detection of chemical and biological weapons, and space exploration, most of them can easily be converted to detection of explosives. 

Military In consideration of potential terror acts with chemical and biological weapons a fast test for different kinds of chemicals and organisms is required. In a single microarray experiment various toxins and biological species can be detected with specific detection probes (generated antibodies). 

Most biological weapons sensors are either antibody- or nucleic acid-based. —Both types need more capability to detect and identify a broader range of... 

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