SBIR Phase I: Dual enzyme system to prevent food waste caused by oxygen

SBIR 第一阶段：双酶系统，防止氧气造成的食物浪费

• 批准号: 2208721
• 负责人: Ellen Campbell
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: Nitrate Elimination Company, Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-15 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2208721&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Dual; enzyme; system

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is development of new technology for safe, recyclable, and effective packaging. The system works by protecting packaged contents from damage from oxygen (technically termed oxidation). An estimated 25% of the world’s food supply is lost due to food spoilage, with oxidation a major contributor to the problem. Technology that contributes to food security is a compelling objective in the 21st century. Today’s methods of protection from oxygen require metals or complex and expensive barrier materials. These options inhibit efficient recycling. Reduction in packaging waste is an increasing goal. Industries agree that current products for oxygen protection are not meeting needs or consumer preferences. This proposal describes a solution based on a pair of enzymes that use minute quantities of sugar to consume oxygen by producing a modified sugar and water. Enzymes perform a specific function (catalyze a chemical reaction) and are inherently environmentally friendly. For many foods, the sugar in the food itself powers the system. The proposed project seeks to determine the viability of a dual enzyme, oxygen removal system for preservation of food quality in real world packaging applications. Prototype materials have demonstrated sufficient performance to justify this research, and a series of technical objectives have been defined. Objectives include determining the oxygen removal activity in a variety of containers and designing optimal product configurations in different containers. A second objective is to determine system performance at various temperatures. Active shelf-life of the system – activity over time – needs to be evaluated. Defining these criteria is required in order to determine the commercial potential of the technology. Enzyme activity assays are key tasks for all objectives. Oxygen removal effectiveness will be determined by an industry standard for measuring oxygen incursion into sealed packages. The proprietary cell lines developed for expression of the enzymes in the system have been screened for production potential at commercial scale. All required enzymes will be produced in house under previously developed standard operating procedures for fermentation and purification. Interfacing with developers of new, environmentally benign packaging materials is ongoing.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.

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响是开发安全，可回收和有效包装的新技术。 该系统的工作原理是保护包装内容物免受氧气的破坏（技术上称为氧化）。 据估计，全世界25%的食物供应因食物腐败而损失，氧化是造成这一问题的主要原因。促进粮食安全的技术是21世纪世纪的一个紧迫目标。今天的氧气保护方法需要金属或复杂而昂贵的屏障材料。这些选择阻碍了有效的回收。减少包装废弃物是一个日益增长的目标。 业界一致认为，目前的氧气保护产品不能满足需求或消费者的偏好。该提案描述了一种基于一对酶的解决方案，该酶使用微量的糖通过产生改性糖和水来消耗氧气。 酶执行特定的功能（催化化学反应），并且本质上是环境友好的。 对于许多食物来说，食物中的糖本身为系统提供动力。 拟议的项目旨在确定的可行性的双酶，氧气去除系统保存食品质量在真实的世界包装应用。 原型材料已经证明了足够的性能来证明这项研究的合理性，并确定了一系列技术目标。 目标包括确定各种容器中的除氧活性和设计不同容器中的最佳产品配置。 第二个目标是确定系统在不同温度下的性能。 需要评估系统的有效保质期（随时间变化的活性）。 为了确定技术的商业潜力，需要确定这些标准。 酶活性测定是所有目标的关键任务。 除氧效果将通过测量氧气侵入密封包装的行业标准来确定。 已经筛选了为在系统中表达酶而开发的专有细胞系的商业规模生产潜力。 所有所需的酶将根据先前开发的发酵和纯化标准操作规程在内部生产。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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。