1. Nanotechnology
& Defense
Margaret E. Kosal
Assistant Professor
Sam Nunn School of
International Affairs
Georgia Institute of Technology
nerdgirl@gatech.edu

2. “Military applications of molecular
y pp
manufacturing have even greater potential
than nuclear weapons to radically change
the balance of power.”
Admiral (Ret) David E. Jeremiah,
former vice chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff *
* “Nanotechnology and Global Security,” (Palo Alto, CA; Fourth Foresight
Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology), November 1995.

3. Security Puzzles
• Does nanotechnology have unique strategic value?
– Security, economic, political, &/or scientific
• Disambiguate
Disambig ate potential for unique capabilities from enabling
niq e
previous capabilities
• Perception or ideation vs technical reality
– “Hope” & “Horror” hype
– Rhetorical equivalence with nuclear technology
– (Pseudo)-technical assessments
( )
E.g., “New technologies (at risk for terrorist appropriation) include biotechnology,
nanotechnology, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and Bose-Einstein
condensates.”*
– Influencing factors: institutional
• International regimes for emerging technology
– Adequacy of traditional arms control treaties
q y
– Role of NGOs
* "WMD Terrorism Research: Where to From Here?” International Studies Review, March 2005, vol. 7, p. 140

4. Current Discourse
• Innovation
• Ethics, Legal & Social Issues (ELSI)
– H lth and environmental i
Health d i t l impacts
t
NSF, EPA, NIOSH, NIH-NIEHS, DOD R&D (~$38M/year)
NNI EHS Research Needs
OECD Working Group on Safety of Nanomanufactured Materials
– Privacy and legal implications
– Uncontrolled replication (“nano-assemblers”) and artificial
intelligence
• Security is rarely in the dialogue
Cou d there
Could t e e be an “AQ Khan” of nanotechnology?
a Q a o a otec o ogy
– Literature: limited & emphasizes “nano-assemblers”
– How to build a framework to assess analytically?
– Reconcile with theories?
Balance of Power Deterrence Constructivist
Offense-Defense Arms Control Regime
– What policy can be implemented to limit proliferation scenarios?

5. Changing Strategic Environment
• Post-Cold War international security environment
• T h l
Technology no l
longer guarantees security
t it
• Globalization and information revolution as drivers
– Enable spread and accessibility
• Dual-use conundrum
• Changing nature of warfare
– Asymmetric warfare
– Interest in unconventional weapons
• Relationship between science and security
p y
• Disruptive technologies

6. Technology: An Operators Perspective
CDR Mike Penny, MD
Senior Medical Officer
Chemical Biological Incident
Response Force (CBIRF)
USMC MEF II
…To close with and save
What Do They Think of Technology?
Requires too much training
Requires too much maintenance
Too delicate
Too
T expensive.i
Then… it lets you down when you need it the most

7. A Warfighter’s Perspective on Possible
Nanotechnology Applications for
CBRNE/WMD Operations
COL Barry Lowe
Chief of Staff
20th Support Command (CBRNE)
Individual Protection
• Applications to make uniform material capable of providing
protection against chemical and biological agents, as well
as other toxic materials
• Applications to make uniform material react instantly to
pp y
become armor in the event of a bullet or fragment impact
• Applications for prophylaxis against inhalation or ingestion
of chemical or biological agents and toxic materials
agents,
• Applications for use as antidotes (this may be more
feasible in the near term)

8. U.S. Overview DOD
Federal 2009 $431M PBR
• 21st Century Nanotech Act (2003- $464 appropriated
2008) $3.7B/5years (planned) 2011 $349M PBR
$
• NNI (2001-08) $8.3B (actual)
DoD highly fractured by service &
• US federal nanotech program
( 000) $710M
(2000) $ 0 – DARPA
(2011 PBR) $1.7B – Air Force: electronics,
computing, communication, &
NNI Strategic Plan (Dec 07) sensors (AFOSR)
– E l D t ti of Lif Th t i
Early Detection f Life Threatening – A
Army: energetics, b lli ti
ti ballistic
Diseases protective materials, & power
– Engineered Nanoscale Materials (ARO)
– Nanobiotechnology
– Navy: electronics, materials,
sensors (ONR)
– Nanotechnology-Based Water Purification – CBDP: passive defense (by
& Testing law)
– Information Processing & Advanced
g – DDR&E
Electronics – MDA
– Predictive Toxicology • OSD Emerging Contaminants
– Societal Dimensions of Nanotechnology Working Group

9. Global Overview
• China
Estimated $300-400M per year over last 10
years
• Japan
J • Significant private investment
$1B per year since 2002 US: 3x times federal
• Southeast Asia investment in private sector
Singapore Nanyang Technological
g p y g g “guestimation” of $2T sales by
g y
University (NTU) “NanoFrontier” >$200M 2015
Malaysia
Taiwan
• Iran
Majles Rep “America cannot tolerate Iran’s
success in scientific fields such as
nanotechnology and nuclear
A Nanotech
•
technology,” Dec 2005
Russia
Asilomar
“nano-enabled thermobaric bomb”
“nano-arms race”
Wouldn’t Work!
• European Union
$3.3B (2004-2005)
30-100% increase over next 3 years

10. International Security Regimes
• Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)
• Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
• Export Controls
Case Study: Zyvex & Export Controls
– Richardson, Texas $10M revenues in 2005
– Nanoworks – nano tools electron
tools,
microscopes & photovoltaic applications
– Kentara™ – CNT dispersions in resins
– Current market
• CNT-reinforced mountain bikes
• Easton baseball bats
– Required to submit ITAR licenses for CNT-
product exports to China
– In response, founder suggests may relocate
to SE Asia

11. Notional Nanotech Proliferation Pathway
Initially benign/
remain benign
Initially benign/
y g /
convert to malfeasant
Pursuit
Decision Initially malfeasant
Large
Pilot Maintain
S&T Reqs Down- Scale
S l
Production Weapons
select Production
Capability
Review, Scale Up
Evaluation, and Maintain Stockpile
Delivery (potential) Agent Weaponization
Agents
Method revision ConOps
Incorporation
Literature Review Literature Review Field Testing Doctrine
Technical Programmatic Promulgation
Countermeasure
Experiment/Test
E i t/T t Factors Factors
Experiment/Test
E i /T Development
Deniability
Synthesis
Envisioned
Characterization ConOps
Reactivity
= major decision points = major steps/activities = optional steps/activities
11

12. Circumventing Vaccines
• Biothrax (AVA) & BioShield-funded Anthrax
recombinant vaccines based on toxins
protective antigen (PA)
Academy of Sciences
Courtes National
• PA necessary to endocytose toxic
proteins (the lethal and edema
sy
factors (EF & LF)) t cytosol
f t to t l
y
cell
• Functionalized single-walled carbon wall
nanotubes (f-SWNTs)
cross mammalian cell walls &
AFM image of SWNT +
release biologically active “cargos” - Staphylococal Protein A (SpA)
p
proteins, p p
, peptides, DNA, RNA,
, , ,
small molecules
rtesy Hongjie
Da Stanford
f-SWNTs
• Motivated by medical applications inside
human
drug delivery & gene therapy
ai,
Cour
cells
100 nm
12

13. Toxin Delivery
Applicable to other BW agents, e.g., Botulinum toxin
• Difficult to produce in large quantities via traditional microbiological
methods (Commercial Botox requires 30-275 vials to achieve one LD50, strain-dependent)
• Current transgenic methods can only produce light chain (LC) of toxin
from E. coli or yeast
• Heavy chain (HC) necessary for toxin to cross cell wall
• LC + carbons nanotubes could circumvent technical difficulties
Courtes Alberto Bianc CNRS
C) Human HeLa cells treated
co,
with functionalized multi-walled
multi walled
carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs) to
deliver DNA into cells.
D) A multi-walled carbon
nanotube crossing the cell
g
sy
membrane.
13

14. “Brain Fry”
NP that heats up A LOT
Stealth coat – defeats upon absorption of EM –
detection and optimizes maybe from a cell phone
aerosolization
• Coated Fe2O3 nanoparticles
• Pass the blood brain barrier
• EM-activatable
• Specific combination of people, materials, &
facilities:
– Expertise in nanoparticle production (especially
biological apps)
– Directed energy experts who may have worked
versity of Rochester
on ablation therapies
urtesy Hong Yang,
– Engineers who have experience in battlefield
f
delivery of EM radiation
– Vets to oversee animal testing
– Aerosol drug delivery expert
Univ
Cou
• Current research motivated by need for
targeted chemotherapeutics and diagnostic Platinum-iron oxide core-shell
imaging nanoparticles

15. Penetration of Bio-Nano Conjugates
• Fullerenes conjugated to
SU
cationic peptide show
Courtesy Nan Monteiro-Riviere, NCS
substantial uptake through skin
• Mechanical stressed increased
penetration
• Skin observed to be
surprisingly permeable to
ncy
nanomaterials (fullerenes &
quantum dots) with diverse
physicochemical properties
• Motivated by transdermal drug
C
delivery applications &
Uptake of fullerene-lysine-FITC complex
through intact stratum corneum (SC) and
nanoparticle safety
underlying epidermal (E) and dermal assess e ts
assessments
layers (D). Scale bar = 50µm
15

16. Nanotoxicity: Range of Novelty
• Some classes of nanoparticles not actually new
– Liposomes
– Ultrafine (<100 nm) particles
• Toxicology of more familiar materials is better understood
– Ultrafine “associated with exacerbations of airway disease” and implicated
in enhanced inflammation
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) – highly unusual aspect ratio and material
properties
– Focus of many early nanotoxicity studies
Carbon nanotube
nanoshell or other nanowire (GaN)
liposome gold & silver
dendrimer fullerene
nanoparticles
ti l
Familiar Novel
16

17. Research Underlying Threat Scenarios
• CNTs Crossing Cell Walls: Nadine Wong et. al., “Carbon Nanotubes as Intracellular Protein Transporters: Generality and Biological Functionality,”
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, vol. 127, p. 6021; Alberto Bianco, et. al., “Cationic Carbon Nanotubes Bind to CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides and Enhance
Immunostimulatory Properties,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, vol. 127, p. 58; Qi Lu, et. al., “RNA Polymer Translocation with Single-Walled Carbon
Nanotubes," Nano Lett., 2004, vol. 4, p. 2473; and Davide Pantarotto, et. al., "Immunization with Peptide-functionalized Carbon Nanotubes
Enhances Virus-specific Neutralizing Antibody Responses" Chem. Biol., 2003, vol. 10, pp. 961. D. Pantarotto; et. al., “Functionalized Carbon
Nanotubes for Plasmid DNA Gene Delivery,” Angew. Chem., Int. Ed,. 2004, vol. 43, p. 5242.
y, g , , , ,p
• Vesicants: Sara Fernandez-Lopez, et. al., “Antibacterial Agents Based on the Cyclic d,l-alpha-peptide Architecture,” Nature, 2001, vol. 412, p. 452;
W. Seth Horne, et. al., “Heterocyclic Peptide Backbone Modifications in an alpha-Helical Coiled Coil,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004; vol.126, p. 15366;
and Jorge Sánchez-Quesada, et. al., “Modulating Ion Channel Properties of Transmembrane Peptide Nanotubes through Heteromeric
Supramolecular Assemblies,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, vol. 124, p. 10004.
• Drug Delivery: D. Missirlis, N. Tirelli, J.A. Hubbell, “Amphiphilic hydrogel nanoparticles. Preparation, characterization, and preliminary assessment
as new colloidal d
ll id l drug carriers,” L
i ” Langmuir, 2005 vol. 21 p. 2605 H S Y
i l 21, 2605; H.S. Yoo, T G P k “F l t
T.G. Park, “Folate-receptor-targeted delivery of d
t t t d d li f doxorubicin nano-
bi i
aggregates stabilized by doxorubicin-PEG-folate conjugate,” J. Control. Release, 2004, vol. 24, p. 247; C.Y. Huang, Y.D. Lee, “Core-shell type of
nanoparticles composed of poly[(n-butyl cyanoacrylate)-co-(2-octyl cyanoacrylate)] copolymers for drug delivery application: Synthesis,
characterization and in vitro degradation,” Int. J. Pharm., 2006 vol. 9, p. 345; R. M. Mainardes, et al., “Liposomes and micro/nanoparticles as
colloidal carriers for nasal drug delivery,” Curr. Drug Deliv., 2006, vol. 3, p. 275; and Y. Zeng, W.G. Pitt, “A polymeric micelle system with a
hydrolysable segment for drug delivery,” J. Biomater. Sci. Polym. Ed., 2006, vol. 17, p. 591.
• Anti-Material Agents: S.L. Scott, C.M. Crudden, C.W. Jones, eds., Nanostructured Catalysts, (Plenum Publishing Corporation; New York), 2003;
K.S. Suslick, et. al., "Nanostructured Materials Generated by High-Intensity Ultrasound: Sonochemical Synthesis and Catalytic Studies," Chemistry
of Materials, 1996, vol. 8, p. 2172; N. Arul Dhas, et. al., “Sonochemical Preparation of Hollow Nanospheres and Hollow Nanocrystals J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2005, vol. 127, p. 2368; and A.J. Zarur, J.Y. Ying, "Reverse Microemulsion Synthesis of Nanostructured Complex Oxides for Catalytic
Combustion," Nature, 2000, vol. 403, p. 65.
• Brain Fry: Peter Varallyay, et al., “Comparison of Two Superparamagnetic Viral-sized Iron Oxide Particles Ferumoxides and Ferumoxtran-10 with a
Varallyay al Comparison
Gadolinum Chelate in Imaging Intracranial Tumors” American Society of Neuroradiology, 2002, vol. 23; Jun Sung Kin, et al., “Toxicity and Tissue
Distribution of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Mice” Toxicological Sciences, 2006, vol. 89, p. 338; and K Hynynen, et al., “Focal Disruption of the Blood-
Brain Barrier Due to 260-kHz Ultrasound Bursts: a Method for Molecular Imaging and Targeted Drug Delivery” Journal of Neuosurgery, 2006, vol.
105, p. 455.
• Self-Assembly: Jean-Marie Lehn, “Toward Complex Matter: Supramolecular Chemistry and Self-organization,” Proc. Natl. Acad. of Science, 2002,
vol. 99 p. 763; G
l 99, 63 George M Whi id and Mil B
M. Whitesides d Mila Boncheva, B
h Beyond M l
d Molecules: S lf A
l Self-Assembly of M
bl f Mesoscopic and M
i d Macroscopic C
i Components,” P
” Proc.
Natl. Acad. of Science, 2002, vol. 99, p. 769; C. P. Collier, et. al., “Electronically Configurable Molecular-Based Logic Gates,” Science, 1999, vol.
285, pp. 391; and Kelly S. Chichak, et. al. “Molecular Borromean Rings,” Science, 2004, vol. 304, p. 1308.
The Science is Real, the Scenarios are Notional! 17

18. Key Security Factors
• Deniability
Deniabilit & Lack of Transparenc
Transparency
– Most of the dual-use concerns raised regarding biotechnology risks are potentially
applicable to malfeasant co-option of nanotechnology *
Except, biological agents require damp environments with moderate temperatures, moderate
pressures and ambient oxygen
* Nano-engineered materials do not replicate
– Lack of explicit norms
– Lack of explicit category for international arms control regimes
• Vulnerability Perception
– Perceived lack or limitation defensive countermeasures, e.g., limitations of stand-off biological (&
to a lesser extent, chemical) detection
• International prestige
p g
• No single discipline on which to focus
– Chemistry to electrical engineering
– Materials science to molecular biology
• Overwhelmingly, a state-based proliferation concern
O h l i l t t b d lif ti
– Secondarily, rogue scientist scenario
• Intent must be balanced with capability
– Offensive versus defensive not transparent
• Globalization
– Private sector is major player global, e.g., sale or transfer of technology

19. Recommendations & Conclusions
• Strategic vision lacking
We are currently attempting to limit the threat of “Biotechnology in an Age of Terrorism”
• Serious threat anticipation with respect to nanotechnology should be
initiated
i iti t d now
• Balance “hype” & hope
• Need to foster revolutionary technology
• Programmatic and institutional (intra- and inter-agency) challenges paramount
• Change in risk tolerance
• Response w/r/t international agreements & groups varies
• CWC, BWTC, Australia Group
• Fostering pro-active international scientific cooperation as means to
encourage beneficial use of technology
• Pro-active “Nano” Cooperative Threat Reduction
• T k 2 diplomacy
Track di l
• Policy outcomes
• JCS-JRO – Incorporation into Modernization Plan
• DTRA-CB/JSTO – Incorporation into TCTI Strategy
DTRA CB/JSTO
• Emerging framework and nascent theory to be tested against biotechnology,
including synthetic biology; cognitive sciences, and nano-bio-info-cogno
(NBIC) convergence

20. Contact information
Margaret E. Kosal, PhD
Assistant Professor
Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta GA
phone: 404-894-9664
margaret.kosal@inta.gatech.edu
www.cistp.gatech.edu

21. Technical Credibility Slide
Prior experimental research includes:
• Nanoscale biochemical sensors
mimic mammalian olfaction system
• Nanoporous porphyrin network
materials
size, shape and biochemical-selective
molecular-scale ‘tinker toys’
y
• Porphyrin-dendrimer nanotubes
biocompatible encapsulation and
delivery materials
• Polarized fluorescent Zn-porphyrin
nanocrystals
photovoltaic (solar cell) and light
transduction materials
photochromic recording media
Kosal, M.E.; Chou, J-H.; Wilson, S.R.; Suslick, K.S. “A Functional Zeolite Analogue Assembled From Metalloporphyrins,” Nature
Materials, 2002, 1, 118; Brunner, R.S.; Kosal, M.E.; Suslick, K.S.; Lamche, R.; Marti, O.; White, J.O. “Near-Field Scanning Optical
Microscopy (NSOM) of Zinc-Porphyrin Crystals,” Ultramicroscopy, 2000, 84, 149; and Kosal, M.E.; Brunner, R.S.; Suslick, K.S.;
White, J.O. Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory Department of Energy (DOE) Program Review (cover), Urbana IL, June
1998, “Unusual Fluorescence Behavior of Zinc Porphyrin Crystals as Characterized by NSOM.” 21