Marrying Commercial-off-the-shelf and Government-off-the-shelf Equipment for Tracking Chemical Releases

Topical Skin Protectants (TSPs) comprised of perfluorinated polyether oil thickened with PTFE are currently used to protect of military personnel from Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs). The existing TSPs provide an effective physical barrier to CWAs butpossess no destructive capacity toward the CWAs, thus limiting their long-term effectiveness and posing an unnecessary hazard to personnel. The incorporation of catalytically reactive materials capable of neutralizing chemical warfare agents, nerve agentsand/or vesicants, would markedly enhance the efficacy of TSPs and reduce risk to personnel. Under the Phase I SBIR program METSS was able to identify and synthesize several catalytically reactive chemical enzymes capable of neutralizing common CWAsimulants in an extremely time effective manner. Furthermore, METSS was able to incorporate these chemistries into a representative TSP cream formulation and verify enhanced barrier performance through the destruction of test simulants. The results ofthe Phase I program efforts clearly demonstrate the technical feasibility of developing reactive TSPs using chemistries that are commerciality available and readily incorporated into existing TSP formulations. The resultant creams are stable and highlyreactive. METSS will further develop these concepts under an applied Phase II program that will clearly establish a very strong foundation for product commercialization efforts.