Squid May be Our Best Defense Against Chemical Weapons

Researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT) at Knoxville are realizing that squid, of all things, may be our best defense against chemical weapons in the future.

The team has identified an enzyme produced in the bodies of squid that may be effective in breaking down nerve gases and other deadly chemical weapons.

If engineered correctly, these enzymes - called bioscavengers - could essentially "chew up" toxic agents in the human body that result from such warfare.

The team's study, recently published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, focused on targeting serve agents such as sarin, which are among the most highly toxic chemical weapons. They aspire to create a prophylactic drug that would neutralize the affects of deadly chemical weapons, like those used in the ongoing Syrian civil war.

"Using an enzyme from a squid as a bioscavenger in humans is problematic because the human body will recognize it as a foreign substance and chop it up," research team member Jerry Parks said in a news release, adding that "other groups have already shown possible ways to get around that problem."

Researchers are using neutron scattering and computational sciences to study these nerve agent bioscavengers - a technique that allows the scientists to get a detailed three-dimensional view of the enzymes as well as understand how the enzymes break down the nerve agents.

"The simulations produced an unexpected result," Smith said. "The enzymes break down sarin in an unusual way. Now we can use that result to engineer them rationally."

Though this research is a step towards an effective defense against chemical weapons, researchers still have a long way to go, including introducing key changes, or mutations, that would improve the activity of the enzyme.

Ultimately, the researchers will have to figure out the best way to administer the enzyme to humans. It probably would be an injection, but it could also be an aerosol spray or a patch.