With the increased threat of chemical weapons used in modern conflicts, DSO has expanded its R&D work to include a range of chem-bio defence capabilities.

One such solution that DSO has developed against chemical agents is the Scentmate - a novel, fast, effective and portal screening kit for individuals suspected of exposure to nerve agents. The technology can assist in rapid on-site screening during a chemical attack.

The Scentmate protocol has been successfully transferred onto a micro-fluidic platform to develop a Lab-On-Chip that enables detection of trace levels of re-generated nerve agents from human blood samples.

DSO has also developed decontamination technologies including the Demul-X - a universal, non-aggressive decontaminant that is effective against a range of chemical and biological agents.

DSO has licensed Advanced Materials Engineering Pte Ltd to exclusively manufacture, market and maintain the system.

DSO's Detection and Verification Laboratory (DVL) has once again successfully retained its "A" for the 18th Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Proficiency Test in April 2007. This is the third time that DVL has successfully retained the coveted designation since obtaining it in March 2003.

This enables DSO to support the work of the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention alongside 12 other elite laboratories from around the globe.

The Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory at DSO is the national single portal of entry for samples contaminated with unknown chemical and biological substances.

In the event of a threat involving unknown chemical and biological substances, DSO’s BSL3 laboratory is the national response laboratory tasked to process, identify and verify the substance used.

The single portal of entry was operationalised when DSO was engaged after the September 11 attacks to screen for anthrax.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, DSO was a member of a clinical consortium of Singapore laboratories that helped in the fight against SARS. The same BioSafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facility undertook the validation of diagnostic kits for the SARs virus and the diagnosis of blood samples.