LLNL and Purdue University Accelerate Discovery of Medical Countermeasures for Emerging Chemical Threats

Home / Articles / External Government

From left: chemists Brian Mayer and Katelyn Mason and biologist Todd Corzett observe the operation of the robot that independently executes the acetylchlolinersterase assays the team uses to assess Novichok inhibition and to discover new oxime antidotes for Novichok poisoning. (Photo: Blaise Douros/LLNL)
From left: chemists Brian Mayer and Katelyn Mason and biologist Todd Corzett observe the operation of the robot that independently executes the acetylchlolinersterase assays the team uses to assess Novichok inhibition and to discover new oxime antidotes for Novichok poisoning (photo: Blaise Douros/LLNL).

August 13, 2025 | Originally published by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on July 14, 2025

In a major advance for chemical defense and public safety, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) Forensic Science Center (FSC) and Purdue University have developed and demonstrated a high-throughput, automated mass spectrometry platform.

Their platform dramatically accelerates the discovery of medical countermeasure candidates against A-series chemical warfare agents, also known as “Novichoks.”

The collaborative research, published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS),” provides the first quantitative data on the potency of these agents and identifies promising new directions for antidote development.

Want to find out more about this topic?

Request a FREE Technical Inquiry!