Surface Decontamination Using Electromagnetic Field/Laser Emitters

SOLUS BIODEFENSE proposes a novel rf-excitable, molecularly-targeted BWA defeat technology, consisting of a microwave (MW)-excitable, UV-fluorophore modified, bioluminescent polymer and a series virabiocides designed to provide multimechanism synergisticagent kill and avid agent targeting directed at biomolecular surface matrices of spores, enveloped viruses, live microbial agents, and biotoxins. The virabiocides will consist of energy-activatable chromophores modified with charge specific agent targetingmoieties, and with moieties likely to undergoe exothermic decomposition within bioagent macromolecular matrices. Mechanisms of kill integral to this design include: 1) sonoluminescent plasma effects induced by pulse microwave excitation of the polymer, 2)UV flash emission, 3) energy transduction-activated chromophore biolethality, and 4) focal exothermic energy release from decomposition events in proximity to molecular target sites within spore walls and viral envelopes. Both free and polymer-coupledvirabiocides (the latter for the purpose of attaching CW nerve agent hydrolyzing enzymes to the system in Phase II) will be developed as integral molecular technology components. The agent defeat effectiveness of this technology will be extensively testedin experimental settings of high peak energy/rapid rise-time pulsed MW irradiation at multiple frequency bandwidths. Effectiveness of surface decontamination will be evaluated using anthrax spores, gram negative bacilli, enveloped influenza virussimulants, and biotoxins.The proposed microwave-excitable molecular-enhancement agent defeat technology is expected to address a broad range of markets in the biomedical, agriculture, veterinary, food science, materials industry, and environmentaldecontamination areas. Furthermore, advances in the technology of using charge groups to design new agent targeting molecules with fluorescent tagging properties opens huge commercial market potential internationally in the biotechnology and clinicaldomains. Furthermore, the development of molecular directed energy targeting and defeat enhancement technologies has significant future potential for the treatment of infectious disease as regards open contaminated wounds, and for the non-invasivemolecular illumination-guided treatment of cancer.