I-Corps: Lignin-derived antimicrobials to control bacterial contamination in fuel ethanol fermentation

I-Corps：木质素衍生抗菌剂可控制燃料乙醇发酵中的细菌污染

• 批准号: 2105899
• 负责人: Jian Shi
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-02-01 至 2023-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2105899&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Lignin; derived; antimicrobials; control

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a sustainable antibiotic replacement, produced from a known waste stream (lignin), for use during fuel ethanol fermentation. In the fuel ethanol industry, traditional antibiotics, such as virginiamycin or penicillin, are introduced prophylactically into the fermentation process to reduce occurrences of bacterial contamination. However, widespread use of such antibiotics has increased the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms that pose an ever-growing risk to human health and the environment. Additionally, these antibiotics have been shown to persist in downstream coproducts such as distillers’ grains, which is becoming a major concern for consumers of livestock that are fed the byproduct. Therefore, the production of novel antimicrobial agents with similar selective toxicity, better biodegradability, and effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains would be highly marketable and useful in industrial yeast fermentation environments. If commercialized successfully, the proposed innovation may offer industrial consumers a sustainably derived antibiotic product to combat contamination during fermentation without the pitfalls of traditional antibiotics. In addition, valorization of lignin waste streams for value-added products may allow future lignocellulosic-based biorefineries to be more cost-effective.This I-Corps project is based on the development of an antibiotic replacement produced from lignin waste streams. Lignin is one of the most abundant natural phenolic polymers on earth, plays an important role in plants’ natural defense mechanisms, and is currently considered a major waste product in the paper and pulp industries and lignocellulosic biorefineries. Despite the widely reported antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, lignin-derived antimicrobials have poor selectivity thus limiting their real-world applications. The proposed technology offers a potential solution by converting lignin into a cost-effective and biodegradable antimicrobial product that may selectively inhibit bacterial contaminates and increase ethanol yields during fuel ethanol fermentation. By oxidatively depolymerizing lignin into a liquid product under mild reaction conditions, the resulting product has shown selective antimicrobial properties against lactic acid bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains, without affecting yeast growth and hydrolase activity. Proof of concept has been demonstrated at the lab scale, but further development of the technology demands a better understanding of the potential customer needs.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.

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可持续的抗生素替代品，由已知的废物流（木质素）生产，用于燃料乙醇发酵。在燃料乙醇工业中，传统的抗生素，如维吉尼亚霉素或青霉素，被引入到发酵过程中，以减少细菌污染的发生。然而，这种抗生素的广泛使用增加了耐药性微生物的出现，对人类健康和环境构成日益增长的风险。此外，这些抗生素已被证明存在于下游副产品中，如酒糟，这正成为饲喂副产品的牲畜消费者的主要担忧。因此，生产具有类似选择性毒性、更好生物降解性和对耐药性细菌菌株有效性的新型抗微生物剂将是高度可销售的，并且可用于工业酵母发酵环境。如果成功商业化，拟议的创新可能会为工业消费者提供一种可持续衍生的抗生素产品，以对抗发酵过程中的污染，而不会出现传统抗生素的陷阱。此外，木质素废物流的增值产品的价格可能会使未来的木质纤维素为基础的生物炼制更具成本效益。这个I-Corps项目是基于开发从木质素废物流生产的抗生素替代品。木质素是地球上最丰富的天然酚类聚合物之一，在植物的天然防御机制中起着重要作用，并且目前被认为是造纸和纸浆工业以及木质纤维素生物炼制中的主要废物。尽管广泛报道了抗氧化剂和抗微生物特性，但木质素衍生的抗微生物剂具有较差的选择性，从而限制了它们的实际应用。拟议的技术提供了一种潜在的解决方案，将木质素转化为具有成本效益且可生物降解的抗菌产品，可以选择性抑制细菌污染并提高燃料乙醇发酵过程中的乙醇产量。 通过在温和的反应条件下将木质素氧化解聚成液体产物，所得产物显示出对乳酸菌（包括抗生素抗性菌株）的选择性抗微生物性质，而不影响酵母生长和水解酶活性。概念验证已经在实验室规模上得到了验证，但技术的进一步发展需要更好地了解潜在的客户需求。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。