SBIR Phase II: Production of an Acyl Glycinate Surfactant by Fermentation

该小型企业创新研究第二阶段项目旨在优化生物表面活性剂的生产，为该产品的商业推出做准备。 在第一阶段，该公司开发了一种合成表面活性剂的工程微生物，一家主要客户确认了表面活性剂样品的身份和纯度。 在第二阶段，将使用合成生物学方法来提高微生物生产表面活性剂的效率。 此外，多个纯化的表面活性剂样品将运送给客户进行评估。 客户反馈将确定需要修改的任何产品功能，并将导致制定详细的产品规范，其中将包括以下指标：纯度、颜色、组成和分子量的可接受变化，该二期项目的目标是优化表面活性剂特性和微生物生产效率，以便表面活性剂可以有利可图地生产和销售，用于消费品配方。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于，它应使公司能够证明合成生物学方法可用于提高生物表面活性剂的生产效率，因此表面活性剂可以作为商业产品销售。 实现这一目标的进展应使公司能够吸引合作伙伴，例如大型化学公司，他们将同意在生物表面活性剂的商业化方面进行合作。 如果生物表面活性剂可以生产和销售盈利，该公司将定位于资助未来的研究和开发，旨在商业推出其他生物表面活性剂。 对社会的好处是，使用这种技术生产的化学品将使用国内种植的可再生原料生产，不会与食品竞争。 此外，生产这些化学品所需的能量低，因为发酵反应在接近环境温度下进行。 这些化学品本质上比传统化学品更安全，因为不使用有毒溶剂，并且表面活性剂是可生物降解的，不会增加温室气体的积累。 这些生物表面活性剂最初将用于个人护理产品，如沐浴露和洗发水。 然而，表面活性剂市场庞大且多样化，为生物表面活性剂在各种产品中的使用创造了机会，如洗衣粉，油漆和涂料，以及采矿业中用于纯化有价值矿物的浮选剂。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is aimed at optimizing production of a bio-surfactant in preparation for commercial launch of the product. During Phase I, the company developed an engineered microorganism that synthesizes the surfactant, and a key customer confirmed the identity and purity of a sample of the surfactant. During Phase II, synthetic biology methods will be used to increase the efficiency of the microorganism producing the surfactant. In addition, multiple samples of purified surfactant will be shipped to customers for evaluation. Customer feedback will identify any product features that require modification and will result in development of a detailed product specification, which will include metrics such as: purity, color, acceptable variation in composition and molecular weight, etc. The objectives of this Phase II project are to optimize surfactant characteristics and microbial production efficiency so that the surfactant can be profitably manufactured and sold for use in consumer products formulations. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that it should enable the company to demonstrate that synthetic biology methods can be used to increase the efficiency of production of a bio-surfactant so the surfactant can be sold as a commercial product. Progress toward that goal should enable the company to attract a partner, for example a large chemical company, who will agree to collaborate on commercialization of the bio-surfactant. If the bio-surfactant can be made and sold profitably, the company will be positioned to fund future research and development aimed at commercial launch of additional bio-surfactants. Benefits to society are that chemicals produced using this technology will be manufactured using domestically grown renewable raw materials, which do not compete with food. Furthermore, the energy required to produce these chemicals is low since the fermentation reaction is performed near ambient temperature. The chemicals are inherently safer than traditional chemicals because toxic solvents are not used, and the surfactants are biodegradable and do not contribute to increased greenhouse gas accumulation. These bio-surfactants will initially be used in personal care products, such as body washes and shampoos. However, the surfactant market is large and diverse, creating an opportunity for use of bio-surfactants in products as varied as laundry detergent, paints and coatings, and floatation-agents used in the mining industry to purify valuable minerals.