I-Corps: Translation Potential of Multi-component Bioactives for Breastmilk Preservation

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛影响是开发一种负担得起的，易于使用的方法，用于延长保质期并在冷冻储存和解冻期间保持母乳的营养完整性。这项技术将使母乳喂养得以持续，并改善婴儿营养。在商业上，该解决方案将提供第一个母乳保存的家庭解决方案，解决母亲和护理人员未满足的需求。促进持续母乳喂养有助于公共卫生，因为它减少了与母乳喂养率低有关的疾病风险和医疗费用。近一半的新妈妈在分娩后离开全职工作，而不到四分之一的新爸爸。虽然妇女离开职业生涯的总体决定是多方面的，但提供母乳喂养孩子的不平等负担可能起到一定作用。该技术的成功开发可以在食品科学、营养以及孕产妇、围产期和产后健康领域开辟新的研究方向。该I-Corps项目利用体验式学习以及对行业生态系统的第一手调查来评估该技术的转化潜力。该解决方案是基于母乳保存配方的开发，该配方由通过新型高通量筛选方法鉴定的安全的食品衍生化合物组成。这些配方抑制脂肪分解，恢复营养成分，并保持冷冻母乳的结构完整性。人类母乳是婴儿营养的黄金标准，但其复杂的结构在冷冻储存期间会恶化，导致脂肪损失，酸败和婴儿对牛奶的排斥。婴儿对母乳的排斥导致许多哺乳期父母转向商业婴儿配方奶粉，即使它们是母乳的不完美替代品。该技术的配方已被证明可以抑制脂肪分解，并在冰箱中保存六个月以上的其他关键营养指标，这可能是第一个负担得起的，在家中延长母乳保质期的解决方案。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 of this I-Corps project is the development of an affordable, easy-to-use method for extending the shelf life and preserving the nutritional integrity of human breast milk during freezer storage and thawing. This technology will enable continued breastfeeding and improved infant nutrition. Commercially, the solution will provide the first at-home solution for breast milk preservation, addressing an unmet need for mothers and caregivers. Facilitating continued breastfeeding supports public health by reducing risks of disease and medical costs associated with low breastfeeding rates. Nearly half of new mothers leave full-time careers after childbirth versus less than a quarter of new fathers. While the overall decision for women to leave their careers is multi-faceted, the unequal burden of providing breast milk to feed a child can play a role. Successful development of this technology can open up new research directions in food science, nutrition, and maternal, perinatal, and postnatal health.This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of breast milk-preserving formulations composed of safe, food-derived compounds identified through a novel high-throughput screening approach. These formulations inhibit fat breakdown, restore nutritional content, and preserve the structural integrity of frozen breast milk. Human breast milk is the gold standard for infant nutrition, but its complex structure deteriorates during freezer storage, resulting in fat loss, rancidity, and infant rejection of the milk. Infant rejection of breast milk leads many lactating parents to switch to commercial infant formulas even though they are imperfect substitutes for human milk. With a formulation that has been shown to inhibit fat breakdown and preserve other key nutritional indicators for over six months of freezer storage, this technology may be the first affordable, at-home solution to extend breast milk's shelf-life.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.