I-Corps: A physicochemical method for improving microorganism viability during manufacturing and storage

该I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发技术，以提高生产过程中微生物的活力和稳定性，从而使益生菌在食品，补充剂，化妆品，个人护理产品，动物饲料，农业和/或治疗行业中的可用性和有效性。目前益生菌的加工方法引起显著的细胞应激并导致细胞死亡，因此限制了市售益生菌种类的功效和数量。这一创新可能使目前的生产线能够生产新型益生菌，而不需要昂贵的设备改造，也不需要将新的有益物种推向市场。许多细菌物种已被鉴定为在许多胃肠道病症（例如，克罗恩病，溃疡性结肠炎，结肠直肠癌），改善人类和动物的健康，并提高作物产量。例如，在牲畜中使用益生菌可以改善生长并减少抗生素的使用。这项创新可能会提供一种安全且具有成本效益的方法，将这些细菌目标推向市场。这个I-Corps项目是基于可用于保护细胞的封装技术的发展。有益活微生物商业化的主要瓶颈是制造和储存。目前的工艺引起显著的热、剪切、渗透和氧化应激，这些应激影响微生物的生存力。目前用于提高生存力的保护策略包括添加保护剂、控制加工参数和在干燥前对微生物施加预应力。所提出的技术使用自组装的无机-有机混合涂层，用于在制造过程中保护微生物。该材料具有生物相容性、可渗透性、热稳定性和机械稳定性、pH响应性、可功能化，可用作活性氧（ROS）清除剂，并由公认的安全（GRAS）成分制成。先前的工作已经证明，这种材料可以包覆活细胞并赋予细胞保护性质（例如，抗紫外线辐射、溶解酶和银纳米颗粒），提高膜的杨氏模量，抵抗蛋白酶，并增加抗氧化能力，这有利于微生物在压力下的稳定性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to develop technology to improve the viability and stability of microorganisms during manufacturing and thus enable the availability and efficacy of probiotics for use in the food, supplements, cosmetics, personal care products, animal feed, agriculture, and/or therapeutic industries. Current processing methods of probiotics cause significant cellular stresses and result in cell death, consequently limiting the efficacy and the number of probiotic species commercially available. This innovation may enable current production lines to manufacture novel probiotics without the need for costly equipment modifications and for new, beneficial species to be brought to market. Many bacteria species have been identified as targets for therapeutic use in a number of gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer), for improved wellness in humans and animals, and for enhanced crop production. For example, the use of probiotics in livestock can improve growth and mitigate the use of antibiotics. The innovation may provide a safe and cost-effective method to bring these bacterial targets to market.This I-Corps project is based on an the development of encapsulation technology that may be applied to protect cells. A major bottleneck in the commercialization of beneficial living microorganisms is manufacturing and storage. Current processes cause significant thermal, shear, osmotic, and oxidative stresses that impact the viability of microorganisms. Protection strategies currently used to enhance viability include addition of protective agents, controlling processing parameters, and prestressing the microorganisms prior to drying. The proposed technology uses a self-assembling, inorganic-organic hybrid coating for the protection of microorganisms during manufacturing. This material is biocompatible, permeable, thermally and mechanically stable, pH-responsive, functionalizable, acts as a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, and is made from generally recognized as safe (GRAS) ingredients. Previous work has demonstrated that this material can coat living cells and impart cytoprotective qualities (e.g., against UV radiation, lytic enzymes, and silver nanoparticles), enhance the Young’s modulus of the membrane, resist proteases, and increase antioxidant capacity, which benefits the stability of the microorganisms under stress.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.