STTR Phase II: Scaling the Purification of Mycosporine-like Amino Acids to Replace Chemical Ultraviolet (UV) Filters and Protect Human and Environmental Health.

STTR 第二阶段：扩大类菌孢素氨基酸的纯化，以取代化学紫外线 (UV) 过滤器并保护人类和环境健康。

• 批准号: 2222582
• 负责人: David Smernoff
• 金额: $ 93.76万
• 依托单位: Heliobiosys, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-04-15 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2222582&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; II; Scaling; Purification

The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will be to bring a new class of full spectrum Ultraviolet A and B (UVA and UVB) protective materials to market. Current chemical sunscreen ingredients raise health concerns for consumers. Additionally, some ingredients are banned for causing potential damage to coral reef ecosystems. Consumers increasingly want products that are safe for them and for the planet, and that are aesthetically pleasing. This project will explore ways to meet the growing demand for better sunscreen ingredients that are produced sustainably. This team will investigate methods to cost-effectively extract naturally-occurring materials from photosynthetic bacteria that can replace current chemical and mineral sunscreen active ingredients. These will also replace a significant portion of the UV filter ingredients. Sunscreens and other related products that might use these naturally occurring, safe, and effective ingredients will help people reduce UV damage to their skin and help reduce skin cancer (including deadly melanoma) and ameliorate skin aging. The project supports the US economy by creating jobs in the algae biotechnology field and in the cosmetic industry including testing, manufacturing, distribution, and sales. The technical innovation at the core of this proposal is to improve the yield and reduce the cost of extracting mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) from a complex mixture of compounds contained within cyanobacterial cells (or other MAA producing organisms). Small volumes of MAAs are currently obtained using expensive and hazardous solvents and expensive equipment. The innovation is focused on the use of synthetic nucleotides (aptamers) to selectively bind to the MAAs and purify them from a cell lysate. Mycosporine-like amino acids arose on early Earth to protect microbes from harmful UV radiation. Their prevalence and longevity substantiate their value in protecting cells from UV radiation and other forms of oxidative stress. Their presence in the Earth’s oceans for millennia speaks to their safety in marine ecosystems and suggests their safety for use on human skin; Safety will be verified using standard pre-clinical tests. Technical hurdles include the isolation and identification of the specific MAAs produced, identifying aptamers that are highly specific for the MAAs produced, determining MAA yield from several purification processes and assessing process scalability. These data will be compared to other isolation techniques (filtration and chromatography) to assess comparative yields and economic performance.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.

这种小型企业技术转移（STTR）II期项目的更广泛影响是将新的全光谱紫外线A和B（UVA和UVB）受保护的材料的新类别。当前的化学防晒霜引起了消费者的健康问题。此外，某些成分被禁止造成对珊瑚礁生态系统的潜在损害。消费者越来越希望对他们和地球安全的产品，并且在美学上感到满意。该项目将探索如何满足对可持续生产的更好防晒成分需求不断增长的方法。该团队将研究从光合细菌中提取天然构材料的方法，这些材料可以取代当前的化学和矿物防晒成分。这些还将取代大部分紫外线过滤成分。防晒霜和其他可能使用这些天然存在，安全和有效的物质的相关产品将有助于人们减少对皮肤的紫外线损害，并帮助减少皮肤癌（包括致命的黑素瘤）并改善皮肤老化。该项目通过在藻类生物技术领域和化妆品行业中创造就业机会来支持美国经济，包括测试，制造，分销和销售。该提案核心的技术创新是提高产量并降低从蓝细菌细胞（或其他MAA生产组织）中包含的复杂化合物的复杂混合物中提取霉菌蛋白样氨基酸（MAA）的成本。目前，使用昂贵且危险的解决方案和昂贵的设备获得了少量MAA。该创新的重点是使用合成核苷酸（APTAMER）选择性结合MAA并从细胞裂解物中净化它们。在地球早期出现了霉菌蛋白样氨基酸，以保护微生物免受有害紫外线辐射。它们的患病率和寿命证实了它们在保护细胞免受紫外线辐射和其他形式的氧化应激方面的价值。他们在地球海洋中的存在数千年来说明了它们在海洋生态系统中的安全，并建议它们安全地用于人类皮肤。将使用标准临床前测试来验证安全性。技术障碍包括对所产生的特定MAA的隔离和识别，确定对MAAS生产的高度特异性的适体，从几个纯化过程中确定MAA产量并评估过程可扩展性。这些数据将与其他隔离技术（过滤和色谱法）进行比较，以评估比较产量和经济绩效。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估被认为是宝贵的支持。