SBIR Phase I: Dual enzyme system to prevent food waste caused by oxygen

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是开发安全，可回收和有效包装的新技术。该系统的工作原理是保护包装内容物免受氧气（技术上称为氧化）的损害。据估计，世界上25%的粮食供应因食物变质而损失，其中氧化是造成这一问题的主要原因。促进粮食安全的技术是21世纪一个令人信服的目标。今天的氧气防护方法需要金属或复杂而昂贵的屏障材料。这些选项阻碍了有效的回收。减少包装废弃物是一个日益增长的目标。业界一致认为，目前的氧气保护产品不能满足需求或消费者的偏好。这个提议描述了一种基于一对酶的解决方案，这种酶通过产生改性的糖和水来消耗少量的糖来消耗氧气。酶执行特定的功能（催化化学反应），并且天生是环保的。对于许多食物来说，食物中的糖本身就为系统提供了能量。拟议的项目旨在确定在现实世界包装应用中保存食品质量的双酶，除氧系统的可行性。原型材料已经证明了足够的性能来证明这项研究的合理性，并且已经确定了一系列的技术目标。目标包括确定各种容器中的除氧活性，并在不同容器中设计最佳产品配置。第二个目标是确定系统在不同温度下的性能。系统的有效保质期——随时间的活性——需要评估。为了确定该技术的商业潜力，需要确定这些标准。酶活性测定是所有目标的关键任务。除氧效果将由测量氧气侵入密封包装的行业标准来确定。为在该系统中表达酶而开发的专有细胞系已经过筛选，具有商业规模的生产潜力。所有所需的酶都将按照先前制定的标准操作程序在室内生产发酵和纯化。与新的，环保的包装材料的开发人员的接口正在进行中。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is development of new technology for safe, recyclable, and effective packaging. The system works by protecting packaged contents from damage from oxygen (technically termed oxidation). An estimated 25% of the world’s food supply is lost due to food spoilage, with oxidation a major contributor to the problem. Technology that contributes to food security is a compelling objective in the 21st century. Today’s methods of protection from oxygen require metals or complex and expensive barrier materials. These options inhibit efficient recycling. Reduction in packaging waste is an increasing goal. Industries agree that current products for oxygen protection are not meeting needs or consumer preferences. This proposal describes a solution based on a pair of enzymes that use minute quantities of sugar to consume oxygen by producing a modified sugar and water. Enzymes perform a specific function (catalyze a chemical reaction) and are inherently environmentally friendly. For many foods, the sugar in the food itself powers the system. The proposed project seeks to determine the viability of a dual enzyme, oxygen removal system for preservation of food quality in real world packaging applications. Prototype materials have demonstrated sufficient performance to justify this research, and a series of technical objectives have been defined. Objectives include determining the oxygen removal activity in a variety of containers and designing optimal product configurations in different containers. A second objective is to determine system performance at various temperatures. Active shelf-life of the system – activity over time – needs to be evaluated. Defining these criteria is required in order to determine the commercial potential of the technology. Enzyme activity assays are key tasks for all objectives. Oxygen removal effectiveness will be determined by an industry standard for measuring oxygen incursion into sealed packages. The proprietary cell lines developed for expression of the enzymes in the system have been screened for production potential at commercial scale. All required enzymes will be produced in house under previously developed standard operating procedures for fermentation and purification. Interfacing with developers of new, environmentally benign packaging materials is ongoing.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.