I-Corps: Commercialization of an Enzymatic Method for Biofilm Removal

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Bacteria have evolved a wide range of strategies to adhere to and grow on metallic and other physical surfaces. Disease causing bacteria produce a protective coating, known as biofilm, which shields the bacteria from chemical treatments while at the same time allowing them to attach to these physical surfaces. This has a major economic and health impact on manufacturing of packaged foods, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods as well as medical devices. A specific example is the health impact of foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria in the United States, where the estimated cost in terms of medical treatments, loss of work, resultant disability and mortality is at least $55 billion a year. Furthermore, preventing bacterial contamination throughout the food manufacturing process presents several unique challenges. While both industry and government agree that a solution to the increasing number of infections from food products is required, 'poultry processors have resisted, arguing that it would be expensive and ultimately futile, because Salmonella is so pervasive.' Thus, an effective solution to this and other similar challenges must (1) provide broad activity against a wide range of bacterial pathogens due to their prevalence throughout the manufacturing process and (2) do so in a cost-effective manner compatible with current manufacturing processes.This I-Corps team has developed a series of engineered enzymes, which are biological molecules that exhibit broad biofilm-degrading activity against a wide range of microbial biofilms. The enzymes retain activity in the presence of common additives used in commercial disinfectants, making them suitable as biocompatible disinfectants in food, pharmaceutical and other manufacturing processes. The proposed technology directly addresses a critical, unmet need to improve water quality, food safety, multi-drug resistance and thus well being of society through the development of enzyme-based technologies that can remove biofilm, which is a major factor that contributes to multidrug resistance and persistence. The I-Corps program will enable the team to identify an effective cost per use, which is key in benchmarking the effectiveness of the proposed approach relative to current enzyme technologies.