I-Corps: Using Peptides for Biomolecules Encapsulation, Storage, and Preservation

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的商业潜力是开发一种多功能生物分子保存解决方案，其应用范围涵盖制药、化妆品、食品、个人护理、农业等多个行业。这项创新通过提高生物分子的稳定性和寿命来应对重大的社会和商业挑战。最初的重点将考虑蛋白质制药行业，特别是物流和制造业，2022年市场规模为2651.6亿美元，预计将实现增长。在研究现有的蛋白质保存方法（如冻干和低温储存）时，整合到生物制药的冻干服务和医疗保健行业的冷链物流链中，预计到2022年将带来230亿美元的收入。此外，通过解决类似的储存挑战，也有机会使农业和家用产品部门受益。I-Corps项目基于一项技术的开发，该技术涉及简单的肽，旨在在空气干燥时形成高度多孔的颗粒和泡沫。这些肽表现出独特的相分离能力，产生多孔固体泡沫，有效地捕获和保护不同的分子有效载荷。这些设计的肽，不同于生物对应物，能够实现可逆的干燥诱导的相分离和封装过程。在重新引入水时，多孔固体泡沫，类似于干粉，并且毫不费力地溶解，展示了分子有效载荷的有效释放和分散机制。该技术提供了几个优点，包括多孔颗粒粉末的机械鲁棒性和尺寸可调性。与传统的乳化方法不同，这种方法不需要机械能，而是依赖于用于相分离和封装的节能蒸发过程。此外，生物相容性和生物可降解肽的使用提高了系统的环境效益和成本效益。正在进行的研究重点是将应用扩展到封装药物，营养品和化妆品有效载荷，展示了这项技术的广泛潜力。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 commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a versatile biomolecule preservation solution with applications spanning diverse industries, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, personal care, agriculture, and more. This innovation stands to address significant societal and commercial challenges by enhancing the stability and longevity of biomolecules. An initial focus will consider the protein based pharmaceutical sector, especially in logistics and manufacturing, with a $265.16 billion market in 2022 and projected growth. When examining existing protein preservation methods such as lyophilization and cold temperature storage, the integration into lyophilization services for biopharmaceuticals and the cold logistic chain in healthcare sectors collectively accounts for an estimated $23 billion in revenue in 2022. Additionally, there are opportunities to benefit the agriculture and household products sectors by addressing analogous storage challenges.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a technology involving simple peptides designed for the formation of highly porous particles and foams upon air drying. These peptides exhibit a unique capability for phase separation, creating porous solid foams that efficiently trap and protect diverse molecular payloads. These designed peptides, distinct from biological counterparts, enable a reversible drying-induced phase separation and encapsulation process. Upon reintroduction of water, the porous solid foams, resembling dry powder, and effortlessly dissolves, showcasing an efficient release and dispersion mechanism for molecular payloads. This technology offers several advantages, including mechanical robustness and size tunability of the porous particle powders. Unlike traditional emulsification methods, this approach does not necessitate mechanical energy but relies on an energy-efficient evaporation process for phase separation and encapsulation. Moreover, the use of biocompatible and biodegradable peptides enhances the environmental- and cost-effectiveness of the system. Ongoing research focuses on expanding the applications to encapsulate pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic payloads, showcasing the broad potential of this technology.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.