Claflin University researchers will soon begin developing a thin strip of paper that can detect the presence of biological outbreaks and chemical weapons.
“The project has enormous implications for national security,” Claflin biology professor Dr. Omar Bagasra said.
The paper strip will act much like a pregnancy test. The idea is the paper strip will turn a specific color to signal a particular hazard. For example, if Sarin gas is released in an area, the paper would turn green.
To achieve the goal, Claflin researchers will cultivate harmless DNA facsimiles that have similar chemical compositions to various biological and chemical threats. They will then use those models to develop the color-coded strip.
“It’s like learning with training wheels first before you start driving the Ferrari,” Claflin chemistry professor Dr. Muthukrishna Raja said. He strongly emphasized that no one on campus will be working with actual containments.
Raja said the project’s primary goal is to train students and give them a segue into a career in national security. Select students, between five and 10 per year, will work with the facsimiles to perfect the detection strip and hopefully create the framework for antidotes.
“We are teaching students how to use that knowledge to be leaders in the field when they leave here. It will give them unique qualifications,” Raja said.
Bagasra said there is a huge need for people working in chemical and biological defense.
Claflin Chemistry Department Chair Dr. Angela Peters outlined the project’s three main goals: to create facsimiles of dangerous materials, to find a way to detect them and to discover an antidote.
“This is going to be a continuous process,” Raja said.
Peters hopes their research will turn into something that can greatly benefit national security.
Claflin’s endeavor is actually two projects in one. Peters and Raja will work to develop the detection and antidote for chemical weapons, such as anthrax. While Bagasra is going to attempt to do the same for biological threats like the West Nile virus.
“They are still looking for ways to destroy chemical warfare agents. We think we can develop some methods to handle, detect and destroy them safely,” Raja said.
To their knowledge, Claflin is the only higher education institution in the nation working on such a project.
Bagasra underscored the importance of the research.
Most of the gases are colorless and odorless, he says. He also points out the effects of those gases and diseases can take minutes, hours or days to materialize. “Unless you’re watching James Bond movies, it doesn’t happen right away,” he said.
In that time, he said an infected person could destroy the population of an entire city.
“As a great nation, we have to be aware of that possibility happening. ... The idea is immediate detection,” he said.
The project is made possible through a $2-million-per-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Claflin’s grant is for two years with an option for two additional years.
Peters anticipates the project will get under way in January.
n T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@times anddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.