Nato technical report about biotech

출처: TR-008-ANN$4.pdf 

 

 4.7 TECHNOLOGYAREA -BIOTECHNOLOGY
Introduction:
Biotechnology implies the synthesis of biochemistry, microbiology and
engineering sciences. The basis of modern biotechnology is the knowledge of
the molecular basis of cellular functions, the possibility of their manipulation and
the application of genetic engineering methods.
The successes of biotechnology have been in medicine, agriculture, and
bioproduction of speciality natural chemicals. Applications that could be
developed and fielded in the 2010-2030 time frame include: deployable
bioproduction of military supplies, biosensor systems, enhanced
immunocompetence (resistance to disease and many chemical, toxin, or
biological warfare agents) for personnel, novel materials with design-specified
properties, battlefield diagnostic and therapeutic systems, performanceenhancing
compounds, and bionic systems.
Gene technologies are methods to modify the genetic material inside cells. As
knowledge of specific genes and their interactions increases, the techniques of
recombinant DNA, cell fusion, and gene splicing will enable the transfer of
multigene complex characteristics into cells and organisms. New substances
and organisms with new properties will be produced, such as substances for
discrete recognition of a particular organism or substance, compounds that
modify biological responses, artificial body fluids and prosthetic materials, new
foods, and organisms for decontamination.
Ongoing developments in biotechnology use DNA chips that can find genetic
variations in individuals in order to identify one’s specific SNP’s (Single
Nucleotide Polymorphisms). Variations in the SNP-profile may allow tailoring
individual medication that gives the best results, for specific diseases (or effects
of biological or chemical agents) that an individual has contracted.
The gene-sequencing technology available in 2020 will allow a less than onehour
estimation of the individual DNA signature, therefor improving cure
possibilities in the future battlespace.
Biomolecular engineering will use knowledge of molecular structure to create
novel materials with specified properties and functions.

 

 Bioproduction technology uses living cells to manufacture products in usable
quantities. The methods can range from fermentation, which has long been
used, to multistage bioreactors.
Targeted delivery systems are composites of biomolecules that have been
structured to deliver an active chemical or biological agent to a specific site in the
body before releasing it from the composite. They will be used for drug and
vaccine delivery systems, special foods and diet supplements, decontamination,
and regenerating or replacing tissues and organs.
Biocoupling and Bioelectronics will link biomolecules or combinations of them to
electronic, photonic, or mechanical systems. The discrete-recognition molecules
developed through gene technology will have to be biocoupled to such devices to
be useful as biosensor systems. Bionics is the technology for emulating the
functioning of a living system with engineered materials. It will progress from
current successes in imitating a specific biological material to eventual creation of
complex, cybernetic systems that emulate the neural systems of animal
behaviour.
Biotechnology offers advantages over more traditional engineering and
manufacturing methods for creating extremely complex substances in pure form
and for very compact systems engineered at the molecular level. Exploiting the
potential of biotechnology will require multi-disciplinary research teams, with
competence in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering.
In-field diagnostic and therapeutic systems will reduce casualties due to disease
and chemical, toxin, or biological warfare threats. Gene technologies,
biomolecular engineering, bioproduction technology, targeted delivery systems,
and biocoupling technology will all be required. Extended human performance
refers to direct coupling of the human central nervous system to machines and
other uses of bionics and orthopaedics. Required investments would be in gene
technologies, biocoupling, and bionics.
Biotechnologies are emerging technologies which will become available more
and more from now to the 2020 timeframe and beyond. Descriptions of such
technologies are being given as follows:
4.7.1 Gene Technologies
Description:
Gene technologies are methods to modify the genetic material inside cells. As
knowledge of specific genes and their interactions increases, the techniques of
recombinant DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA), cell fusion, and gene splicing will
enable the transfer of multigene complex characteristics into cells and organisms.
New substances and organisms with new properties will be produced, such as
substances for discrete recognition of a particular organism or substance,
compounds that modify biological responses, artificial body fluids and prosthetic
materials, new foods, and organisms for decontamination.
Embedded in the inherited information of every organism (i.e., in its genome), is
highly specific information on the molecular sequences of its component
biomolecules. Biotechnology can exploit this information to design and assemble
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biological molecules and structures that can distinguish unequivocally between
Chemical, Toxin, and Biological Warfare (CTBW) agents and nonagents with
similar characteristics. Gene technologies (along with the medical and biological
understanding they have produced), biomolecular engineering, and biocoupling
will be able to move CTBW detection and identification into the next generation of
defensive strategies and beyond.
Availabilitv:
Estimate of Technology Maturity For Full Scale Engineering Development:
For biosensors and ability to distinguish between CTBW agents. 2000-2010
Impact on militarv qround force capabilitv:
Fewer chemical, toxin and biological warfare casualties.
4.7.2 Biomolecular Engineering
Description:
Biomolecular engineering is the technology to design and produce biomolecules,
including structural proteins, enzymes, etc., with specific tailorable properties.
Our current capability to relate the structure of biomolecules to their function is
limited for all but the smallest of these molecules. There are still many surprises
and predictive failures, even in areas where predictive methods are most
advanced. At present we lack the ability to design de novo a biomolecule for a
reasonably complex function, such as radar nonreflectivity. However, the
scientific disciplines to pursue such a capability do exist.
Progress in biomolecular engineering will depend on advances in two contributing
areas:
0 prediction of the biomolecular structures required to achieve a
desired function and
l methods to design, construct, and produce molecules or
composites that meet specific functional requirements. The
multidisciplinary research teams needed for this work must combine
expertise in structure-function physical chemistry; physical
biochemistry; computational methods for simulation, modelling, and
display of biomolecules; analytical methods for determining the
detailed structure of biomolecules; biophysics and chemistry of
molecular biopolymer synthesis; and the biochemistry and
molecular genetics of the genome.
Of the several high-payoff opportunities identified in biotechnology, biomolecular
engineering will be applicable to the following: deployable bioproduction of
military supplies, biosensor systems, novel materials, extended human
performance, and anti-materiel products.
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Availability:
Estimate of Technology Maturity For Full Scale Engineering Development: 2010 -
2020
Impact on military qround force capabilitv:
Biomolecular engineering offers advantages over more traditional engineering
and manufacturing methods for creating extremely complex substances in pure
form and for very compact systems engineered at the molecular level.
4.7.3 Bioproduction Technologies
Description:
The bioproduction techniques and resources already available include
bioreactors; cell culture and fermentation techniques; cell growth media and
factors; established ceil lines for mammalian, insect, bacterial, yeast, and algal
cells; cell harvesting and processing techniques; chemical coupling techniques
and processes for immobilizing (fixing) cells and proteins; and techniques for
purification and isolation, such as affinity chromatography.
Further development of fermentation and cell culture techniques, cell lines, and
bioreactors will be particularly important for efficient large-scale production.
Bioproduction methods also need to be scaled up from laboratory size to
industrial production scales.
Affinity chromatography is based on the covalent coupling of affinity ligands,
enzymes, and other biomolecules with specific recognition characteristics to inert,
solid support materials. The resulting technology will enable rapid, efficient
purification and processing of ultrapure materials on a large scale. In one type of
purification (monoclonal antibodies), the older technology of column
chromatography had a process yield of only 40 to 60 percent, gave a product that
was 95 percent pure, and required 2 to 3 days. The new method based on
membrane affinity can process the same amount of material in 1 hour, giving a
90 to 96 percent yield and a
Bioproduction technology
opportunities: deployable
immunocompetence, novel
and antimaterial products.
Availability:
product that is 99 percent pure.
will be applicable to five selected high payoff
bioproduction of military supplies, enhanced
materials, in-field medical diagnosis and treatment,
Estimate of Technology Maturity For Full Scale Engineering Development: 2010 -
2020.
Impact on military qround force capabilitv:
Bioproduction technologies will be able to produce both natural and artificial
materials, such as composites and customised polymers with specifiable
physical, chemical, and electrical properties. Advances will depend on the
simultaneous development of computer-aided biomolecular design and low143
temperature manufacturing techniques. In 20 years, composite materials may
exist that incorporate Chemical, Toxin, & Biological Warfare (CTBW) barriers,
special impedance-matching characteristics to attenuate blast and sonic
interactions, and some defence against white phosphorous munitions.
4.7.4 Targeted Delivery S ys terns
Description:
In a targeted delivery system, an active substance is encapsulated in a
membrane or a matrix that permits controlled release when the capsule system
reaches its intended site of action. The release may be slow, by diffusion out of
the encapsulating material, or triggered by dissolution of the capsule. Thus,
these systems permit the use of biosubstances that would otherwise be
inactivated or degraded before they could be effective for their intended purpose.
New microencapsulation technology, using biomaterials that are biocompatible
and biodegradable, will protect sensitive active substances from degradation or
inactivation by light, chemical, or biological stresses. In medical applications,
drugs, vaccines, peptides, and proteins will be administered with
microencapsulation systems now under development. In nonmedical
applications, field-deployable, stable capsule systems will be useful for intelligent
biosensors, decontamination systems, and biocamouflage systems for signal
suppression.
Among the potential applications of interest to the Army are drug and vaccine
delivery systems for prophylaxis or treatment of infectious diseases or Chemical,
Toxin, & Biological Warfare (CTBW) agents, energy-rich or performanceenhancing
foods and supplements, decontamination methods, deployable
purification kits, and regeneration or replacement of tissues and organs.
Advances in this area are projected that will produce self-regulating delivery
systems. Specific triggering mechanisms for release of the active substance will
be developed, such as triggers by pH, ionic strength, specific receptor/ligand
binding, or specific frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
Of the high-payoff opportunities for biotechnology, targeted delivery systems
could play a role in enhanced immunocompetence, novel materials, in-field
medical diagnosis and treatment, and anti-materiel products.
Availabilitv:
Estimate of Technology Maturity For Full-Scale Engineering Development: 2010
- 2020
Impact on military qround force capabilitv:
Targeted delivery systems will be used for drug and vaccine delivery systems,
special foods and diet supplements, decontamination, and regenerating or
replacing tissues and organs.
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4.7.5 Biocoupling & Bioelectronics
Description:
For near-term biosensor applications and longer term bioelectronics, it is
necessary to develop techniques to couple the biocapture and recognition event
(the response of a biomolecule to its target molecule or energy form) to the
means for amplifying, transducing, and communicating that information into an
electronic, optical, or mechanical signal. Development of antibody or biorecepter
molecules as biosensors is in progress. The coupling technology is less
advanced, receives less attention, and will be more difficult.
Bioelectronics refers to the use of biomolecules or biosensor systems within an
electronic data-processing system--for example, a “microchip” integrated circuit
that incorporates biosensor elements into a computer memory “biochip”. The
development of this technology depends not only on biocoupling advances but
also on biomolecular elements with a binary signal response.
As with biomolecular engineering, to reap the potential of biocoupling technology
will require multidisciplinary teams competent in many specialities, including
molecular genetics, receptor physiology, and pharmacology; physical chemistry
of macromolecules; the physics and chemistry of signal trapping and recognition;
engineering adaptation of unit-event signals into systems with integrated outputs;
and engineering to adapt the environment required by the biosensor to the
sampled environment.
It is recommended that biocoupling be pursued in parallel with biosensor
development, because biocoupling methods may determine which biomolecular
mechanisms are feasible as biosensors within the larger system to which they
are coupled.
Availability:
Estimate of Technology Maturity For Full Scale Engineering Development: 2010 -
2020
Impact on military qround force capabilitv:
0 Deployable remote detection and analysis systems (with telemetry)
to assess the presence and status of hostile troops and equipment,
disease, and Chemical, Toxin, Biological Warfare (CTBW) threats,
or environmental parameters;
0 Rapid diagnosis and identification of disease and CTBW threats in
the field;
l Terrain and perimeter monitoring;
0 Monitoring of critical personnel performance;
0 Performance modification (see also bionics technology);
0 Bioelectronics identification of friend, foe, or neutral personnel
through specialised sensors.

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