ChemBioWar: Chemicals, warfare and biobased protective systems

Reactive Surfaces and its commercial progress

Human field trials of the technology are impossible — obviously, we’re not going to spray people with nerve agents to see if the protection works. Testing has focused on response with fruit flies (using organophosphorus compounds widely used in insecticides), and found that 98.2 percent of fruit flies survived when exposed to toxic-level battle-dress uniforms, compared to 0.8 percent of the control group.

In a fruit fly trial, 96.2% of flies survived with a WMDtox-treated battle dress uniform, compared to 0.8% of the control group exposed to the uniforms’ chemical dosing

More testing? See the YouTube videos with uniforms, small arms. grab-handles and iPads here:

Uniform
Small Arms
Grab Handle
iPad

Reactive Surfaces has built a plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with a capacity of 30-50,000 gallons of coatings per year, is now aiming to triple capacity, and may also license its technology to OEMs. Reactive Surfaces is providing WMDtox to Mississippi-based weapons coating company, Birdsong Firearms, as a weapons coating for military personnel and first-responders.

As Reactive Surfaces founder and CIO, Steve McDaniel noted, “We will work with OEMs. For example, Apple may want to come out with battle-hardened laptops — and for sure, warfighters know that these days that their lives depends on their laptops.”