Key Points:
- Researchers designed a synthetic protein that quickly detects molecules of the deadly nerve agent, VX.
- VX is an odorless, tasteless, human-made chemical compound that is the most toxic and rapidly acting of any of the known chemical warfare agents.
- The development could pave the way for a new generation of tailor-made biosensors and treatments.
Biochemists at Rutgers University have created a synthetic protein that quickly detects molecules of VX, a deadly nerve agent classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction that could be used in a chemical warfare attack.
VX is an odorless, tasteless, human-made chemical compound that is the most toxic and rapidly acting of any of the known chemical warfare agents. It works by attacking the nervous system, causing muscle paralysis and death via asphyxiation within minutes. Because VX is classified as a weapon of mass destruction, countries are banned from stockpiling it. However, nations are permitted to store small amounts for research.
Using high-speed computation design, Rutgers scientists designed the synthetic protein with a cavity at its center to match the precise shape and chemical composition of VX. Collaborators at the City College of New York then took the Rutgers design and produced a real version of the protein, purified it and shipped the sample on ice overnight to an approved chemical weapon testing facility in Kansas City, Mo. There, the protein was tested against VX within 24 hours.
“The protein underwent a dramatic shape change, burying VX in the cavity we designed,” said Vikas Nanda, author on the study and a scientist at Rutgers’ Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM).
According to the study published in Science Advances, the protein can detect VX at levels 1,000x more sensitive than current technologies. In addition, the protein doesn’t produce false positives that occur when present-day sensors accidentally detect non-nerve agent chemicals that are similar, like some pesticides.
The development could pave the way for a new generation of tailor-made biosensors and treatments. Nanda explained that the shape change the protein underwent is actually the signal that can be coupled to a sensor device.
“We wanted to design it to generate a signal that could be coupled to a device, making a biosensor for chemical weapons. And we’ve been able to achieve that,” concluded the biochemist.