I-Corps: Lignin-derived antimicrobials to control bacterial contamination in fuel ethanol fermentation

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可持续的抗生素替代品，从已知的废液(木质素)中生产，用于燃料乙醇发酵。在燃料乙醇行业，传统的抗生素，如维吉尼亚霉素或青霉素，被预防性地引入发酵过程，以减少细菌污染的发生。然而，这类抗生素的广泛使用增加了抗药性微生物的出现，对人类健康和环境构成了越来越大的风险。此外，这些抗生素已被证明在下游的副产品中持续存在，如酒糟，这正成为喂养副产品的牲畜消费者的主要担忧。因此，生产具有相似选择毒性、更好的生物降解性和对抗生素耐药菌株有效的新型抗菌剂在工业酵母发酵环境中具有很高的市场和实用价值。如果成功商业化，拟议中的创新可能会为工业消费者提供一种可持续衍生的抗生素产品，以对抗发酵过程中的污染，而不会出现传统抗生素的陷阱。此外，木质素废液用于增值产品的价格化可能会使未来基于木质纤维的生物精炼更具成本效益。这个i-Corps项目是基于开发利用木质素废液生产的抗生素替代品。木质素是地球上含量最丰富的天然酚类聚合物之一，在植物的自然防御机制中发挥着重要作用，目前被认为是造纸和纸浆工业以及木质纤维生物炼油厂的主要废物。尽管木质素具有广泛的抗氧化剂和抗菌性能，但木质素衍生的抗菌剂选择性较差，从而限制了其在现实世界中的应用。这项拟议的技术提供了一种潜在的解决方案，将木质素转化为一种成本效益高的可生物降解的抗菌产品，在燃料乙醇发酵过程中可以选择性地抑制细菌污染并增加乙醇产量。通过在温和的反应条件下将木质素氧化解聚为液体产物，生成的产物对乳酸菌(包括耐药菌株)表现出选择性的抗菌性能，而不影响酵母生长和水解酶活性。概念证明已经在实验室规模上得到了证明，但技术的进一步发展需要更好地了解潜在的客户需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a sustainable antibiotic replacement, produced from a known waste stream (lignin), for use during fuel ethanol fermentation. In the fuel ethanol industry, traditional antibiotics, such as virginiamycin or penicillin, are introduced prophylactically into the fermentation process to reduce occurrences of bacterial contamination. However, widespread use of such antibiotics has increased the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms that pose an ever-growing risk to human health and the environment. Additionally, these antibiotics have been shown to persist in downstream coproducts such as distillers’ grains, which is becoming a major concern for consumers of livestock that are fed the byproduct. Therefore, the production of novel antimicrobial agents with similar selective toxicity, better biodegradability, and effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains would be highly marketable and useful in industrial yeast fermentation environments. If commercialized successfully, the proposed innovation may offer industrial consumers a sustainably derived antibiotic product to combat contamination during fermentation without the pitfalls of traditional antibiotics. In addition, valorization of lignin waste streams for value-added products may allow future lignocellulosic-based biorefineries to be more cost-effective.This I-Corps project is based on the development of an antibiotic replacement produced from lignin waste streams. Lignin is one of the most abundant natural phenolic polymers on earth, plays an important role in plants’ natural defense mechanisms, and is currently considered a major waste product in the paper and pulp industries and lignocellulosic biorefineries. Despite the widely reported antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, lignin-derived antimicrobials have poor selectivity thus limiting their real-world applications. The proposed technology offers a potential solution by converting lignin into a cost-effective and biodegradable antimicrobial product that may selectively inhibit bacterial contaminates and increase ethanol yields during fuel ethanol fermentation. By oxidatively depolymerizing lignin into a liquid product under mild reaction conditions, the resulting product has shown selective antimicrobial properties against lactic acid bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains, without affecting yeast growth and hydrolase activity. Proof of concept has been demonstrated at the lab scale, but further development of the technology demands a better understanding of the potential customer needs.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.