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UT, ORNL scientists’ discoveries could help neutralize chemical weapons

Posted at 1:57 pm June 16, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Enzyme Figure

Nerve agent sarin bound to bioscavenger enzyme. (Image courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Researchers at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are a step closer to creating a prophylactic drug that would neutralize the deadly effects of the chemical weapons used in Syria and elsewhere.

Jeremy Smith, UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair and an expert in computational biology, is part of the team that is trying to engineer enzymes—called bioscavengers—so they work more efficiently against chemical weapons. The work is a joint effort between scientists at UT, ORNL, and a French national laboratory in Grenoble. Their study was published recently in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.

Nerve agents, such as sarin, are among the most highly toxic chemical weapons. The study focuses on engineering enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of nerve agents as a prophylactic approach to diminishing their toxic effects. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: bioscavengers, Biosciences Division, chemical weapons, computational biology, computer simulation, enzymes, Jeremy Smith, Jerry Parks, Journal of Physical Chemistry, nerve agents, neutron scattering, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, prophylactic drug, sarin, Syria, University of Tennessee, UT-ORNL Governor's Chair

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