SBIR Phase II: Production of an Acyl Glycinate Surfactant by Fermentation

SBIR 第二阶段：通过发酵生产酰基甘氨酸盐表面活性剂

• 批准号: 1353912
• 负责人: Kevin Jarrell
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Modular Genetics, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2020-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1353912&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Production; Acyl

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at optimizing production of a bio-surfactant in preparation for commercial launch of the product. During Phase I, the company developed an engineered microorganism that synthesizes the surfactant, and a key customer confirmed the identity and purity of a sample of the surfactant. During Phase II, synthetic biology methods will be used to increase the efficiency of the microorganism producing the surfactant. In addition, multiple samples of purified surfactant will be shipped to customers for evaluation. Customer feedback will identify any product features that require modification and will result in development of a detailed product specification, which will include metrics such as: purity, color, acceptable variation in composition and molecular weight, etc. The objectives of this Phase II project are to optimize surfactant characteristics and microbial production efficiency so that the surfactant can be profitably manufactured and sold for use in consumer products formulations. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that it should enable the company to demonstrate that synthetic biology methods can be used to increase the efficiency of production of a bio-surfactant so the surfactant can be sold as a commercial product. Progress toward that goal should enable the company to attract a partner, for example a large chemical company, who will agree to collaborate on commercialization of the bio-surfactant. If the bio-surfactant can be made and sold profitably, the company will be positioned to fund future research and development aimed at commercial launch of additional bio-surfactants. Benefits to society are that chemicals produced using this technology will be manufactured using domestically grown renewable raw materials, which do not compete with food. Furthermore, the energy required to produce these chemicals is low since the fermentation reaction is performed near ambient temperature. The chemicals are inherently safer than traditional chemicals because toxic solvents are not used, and the surfactants are biodegradable and do not contribute to increased greenhouse gas accumulation. These bio-surfactants will initially be used in personal care products, such as body washes and shampoos. However, the surfactant market is large and diverse, creating an opportunity for use of bio-surfactants in products as varied as laundry detergent, paints and coatings, and floatation-agents used in the mining industry to purify valuable minerals.

这一小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目旨在优化一种生物表面活性剂的生产，为该产品的商业推出做准备。在第一阶段，该公司开发了一种合成表面活性物质的工程微生物，一位关键客户确认了表面活性物质样品的身份和纯度。在第二阶段，将使用合成生物学方法来提高产生表面活性物质的微生物的效率。此外，多个精制表面活性剂样品将运往客户进行评估。客户反馈将确定任何需要修改的产品功能，并将导致制定详细的产品规格，其中将包括诸如纯度、颜色、可接受的组成变化和分子量等指标。该第二阶段项目的目标是优化表面活性剂的特性和微生物生产效率，以便能够有利可图地制造和销售表面活性剂，用于消费品配方。这个项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，它应该使该公司能够证明，可以使用合成生物学方法来提高生物表面活性物质的生产效率，从而使表面活性物质能够作为商业产品出售。朝着这一目标取得的进展应该会使该公司能够吸引合作伙伴，例如一家大型化工公司，后者将同意在生物表面活性剂的商业化方面进行合作。如果生物表面活性剂能够制造和销售并有利可图，该公司将定位于为未来旨在商业推出更多生物表面活性剂的研究和开发提供资金。对社会的好处是，使用这种技术生产的化学品将使用国内种植的可再生原材料生产，而这些原材料不会与食品竞争。此外，生产这些化学品所需的能量很低，因为发酵反应是在环境温度附近进行的。这些化学物质本质上比传统化学物质更安全，因为没有使用有毒的溶剂，表面活性剂是可生物降解的，不会增加温室气体的积累。这些生物表面活性剂最初将用于个人护理产品，如沐浴露和洗发水。然而，表面活性剂市场巨大而多样，这为在各种产品中使用生物表面活性剂创造了机会，这些产品包括洗涤剂、油漆和涂料，以及浮选剂--矿业中用于提纯有价值矿物的浮选剂。