PFI:AIR - TT: Green, Biocompatible Enzymatic Disinfectants for Broad-spectrum Inhibition and Removal of Microbial Contamination in Packaged Produce

PFI:AIR - TT：绿色、生物相容性酶消毒剂，用于广谱抑制和去除包装产品中的微生物污染

• 批准号: 1701059
• 负责人: Bryan Berger
• 金额: $ 19.96万
• 依托单位: Lehigh University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-06-01 至 2018-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1701059&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; AIR; TT; Green; Biocompatible

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on producing custom enzymes designed to break down polysaccharides which form the foundation of common microbial biofilms. The enzymes can be used in an aqueous solution that can be applied to food during cleaning and processing to remove biofilm-forming microbes. The use of a safe and green enzyme-based disinfectant is important because of the rising frequency of food-borne illness and associated outbreaks linked to microbial contamination from pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella. In addition, these enzymes offer an opportunity to replace harsh chemical cleaning agents with biocompatible, safe and green alternatives.  This project will result in a family of cleaning products formulated for a wide range of uses in cleaning of produce and other packaged foods. The uniqueness of the enzyme-based cleaning products are (1) ability to engineer specificity and target a broad range of microbial biofilms, (2) ability to select enzymes that retain activity under actual cleaning conditions, (3) ability to discriminate between pathogen and non-pathogen microbial biofilms, (4) demonstrated methods for high-yield production and (5) providing a safe, biocompatible alternative to current chemical cleaning agents. Collectively these features provide a new, green and targeted alternative to current industry standard chemical disinfectants such as peracetic acid in this market space.  This project addresses key gaps in knowledge required to translate this technology to the marketplace. Chemical disinfectants and mechanical disruption often have limited efficacy against microbial biofilms, allowing potential pathogens to persist in processing environments despite cleaning and cause foodborne illness. Furthemore, biofilm chemical structure is often complex and heterogeneous due to the presence of multiple microbes present within a biofilm community. This technology addresses both of these gaps by engineering enzymes that can degrade chemically heterogeneous biofilms, and can act synergistically with other cleaning methods or alone to enhance removal of microbial pathogens present during food processing. In particular, the project utilizes some leading industry partners such as Highland Fresh Technologies who will assist in designing and simulating actual process conditions under which application testing can be performed to determine amount per use and method of application. Also, production costs during scale-up will be calculated to identify critical costs associated with the final product. Additionally, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students working on this project will receive technology translation expertise, working to answer critical questions necessary to identify production costs, business plan development as well as direct exposure to key industry partners to design and execute key testing of products.

该 PFI：AIR 技术翻译项目专注于生产定制酶，旨在分解构成常见微生物生物膜基础的多糖。这些酶可以在水溶液中使用，在清洁和加工过程中应用于食品以去除形成生物膜的微生物。使用安全、绿色的酶类消毒剂非常重要，因为食源性疾病以及与大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌等病原体的微生物污染有关的相关疾病爆发的频率不断上升。此外，这些酶还提供了用生物相容、安全和绿色替​​代品替代刺激性化学清洁剂的机会。  该项目将产生一系列清洁产品，其配方可广泛用于农产品和其他包装食品的清洁。基于酶的清洁产品的独特性在于（1）能够设计特异性并针对广泛的微生物生物膜，（2）能够选择在实际清洁条件下保留活性的酶，（3）能够区分病原体和非病原体微生物生物膜，（4）经过验证的高产生产方法，以及（5）为当前的化学清洁剂提供安全、生物相容的替代品。总的来说，这些功能为该市场领域中的过氧乙酸等当前行业标准化学消毒剂提供了一种新的、绿色的、有针对性的替代品。  该项目解决了将该技术推向市场所需的关键知识空白。化学消毒剂和机械破坏通常对微生物生物膜的功效有限，尽管进行了清洁，但潜在的病原体仍然存在于加工环境中，并导致食源性疾病。此外，由于生物膜群落中存在多种微生物，生物膜化学结构通常是复杂且异质的。该技术通过工程化酶来解决这两个问题，这些酶可以降解化学异质生物膜，并且可以与其他清洁方法协同作用或单独作用，以增强对食品加工过程中存在的微生物病原体的去除。特别是，该项目利用了一些领先的行业合作伙伴，例如 Highland Fresh Technologies，他们将协助设计和模拟实际工艺条件，在这些条件下可以进行应用测试，以确定每次使用的用量和应用方法。此外，还将计算放大期间的生产成本，以确定与最终产品相关的关键成本。此外，从事该项目的博士后研究员和研究生将获得技术翻译专业知识，致力于回答确定生产成本、制定业务计划以及直接接触主要行业合作伙伴以设计和执行产品关键测试所需的关键问题。