Abstract
Development of new technologies for Biological Warfare Agents (BWA) stand-off detection implies several safeties, logistic and economic drawbacks that involve production of different highly virulent bacteria and viruses, their isolation and characterization under adequate bio-containment and sample preparation for each agent to evaluate the testing method. In order to overcome these difficulties most of the research activities and tests reported so far, are performed using simulants: Biological Agents (BA) which are phylogenetically or structurally related to BWA. The use of the simulants (BWA-S) show, however, some limitations: they can share some of the properties of the biological warfare agents but have different antigens, proteome and genome. In this work, different BWA-S was evaluated for the application in the development and training of stand-off detection systems. This study is the basis for the use of simulants in the development of an Ultraviolet Laser Induced Fluorescence (UV-LIF) based detection systems.
Highlights
The 2001 anthrax attacks in USA spread the fear of a bioterrorist attack worldwide
Due to its high transmissibility rate, tests with Y. pestis represent a serious risk for operators, resulting in the need for non-pathogenic biological agents to be used for its detection
Species of Enterobacteriaceae family may be used as potential Gram-negative bacteria simulants, in order to reduce the riskiness connected to the use of the real bioterrorist threats
Summary
The 2001 anthrax attacks in USA spread the fear of a bioterrorist attack worldwide. Since letters with suspicious powder are a regular phenomenon all over the world [1]. Comparing with other non-conventional offensive agents, as chemical or radiological weapons, BWAs show a high lethality and the ability (with the exception of toxins) to multiply in the host and to spread among the population. The use of non-pathogenic microorganisms or molecules as simulants of Biological Warfare Agents (BWA-S) is essential in the initial phase of detection methodologies development.
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