Researchers in New Jersey and New York have designed a synthetic protein that quickly detects VX, a nerve agent classified by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction. The breakthrough could be used in tailor-made biosensors and treatments in the wake of chemical attacks.

Described in the journal Science Advances, the protein was created through a special design on high-speed computers in Rutgers’ laboratories.

“We’ve made an artificial protein that binds a chemical target—in this case, the VX nerve agent,” says Vikas Nanda, a scientist at Rutgers’ Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM). “We wanted to design it to generate a signal that could be coupled to a device, making a biosensor for chemical weapons. And we’ve been able to achieve that.”

VX is an odorless, tasteless, human-made chemical compound that is the most toxic and rapidly acting of any of the known chemical warfare agents. It works by attacking the nervous system, causing muscle paralysis and death via asphyxiation within minutes. While antidotes are available for VX, they are most useful if given as soon as possible after exposure.

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The Rutgers team designed the protein to have a cavity at its center that matched the precise shape and chemical composition of VX. Collaborators at the City College of New York took the Rutgers design and produced a real version of the protein, purified it, and shipped the sample to an approved chemical weapon testing facility. There, the protein was tested against VX within 24 hours.

“The protein underwent a dramatic shape change, burying VX in the cavity we designed,” said Nanda, who also is a professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “This shape change is the signal which could be coupled to a sensor device.”

The protein can detect VX at levels a thousand times more sensitive than current technologies. In addition, the protein doesn’t produce false positives that occur when present-day sensors accidentally detect non-nerve agent chemicals which are similar, like some pesticides.

“The design method presented here should enable the development of a new generation of biosensors, therapeutics and diagnostics,” Nanda said.