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Biocatalytic nerve agent detoxification in fire fighting foams
Author(s) -
LeJeune Keith E.,
Russell Alan J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0290(19990320)62:6<659::aid-bit5>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - human decontamination , nerve agent , detoxification (alternative medicine) , biocatalysis , environmentally friendly , sarin , chemistry , biochemical engineering , environmental science , waste management , enzyme , organic chemistry , biology , ecology , catalysis , engineering , medicine , ionic liquid , alternative medicine , pathology , acetylcholinesterase
Current events across the globe necessitate rapid technological advances to combat the epidemic of nerve agent chemical weapons. Biocatalysis has emerged as a viable tool in the detoxification of organophosphorus neurotoxins, such as the chemical weapons VX and sarin. Efficient detoxification of contaminated equipment, machinery, and soils are of principal concern. This study describes the incorporation of a biocatalyst (organophosphorus hydrolase, E.C. 3.1.8.1) into conventional formulations of fire fighting foam. The capacity of fire fighting foams to decrease volatilization of contained contaminants, increase surface wettability, and control the rate of enzyme delivery to large areas makes them useful vehicles for enzyme application at surfaces. The performance of enzyme containing foams has been shown to be not only reproducible but also predictable. An empirical model provides reasonable estimations for the amounts of achievable surface decontamination as a function of the important parameters of the system. Theoretical modeling illustrates that the enzyme‐containing foam is capable of extracting agent from the surface and is catalytically active at the foam–surface interface and throughout the foam itself. Biocatalytic foam has proven to be an effective, “environmentally friendly” means of surface and soil decontamination. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 62: 659–665, 1999.