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

I-Corps：木质素衍生抗菌剂可控制燃料乙醇发酵中的细菌污染

• 批准号: 2105899
• 负责人: Jian Shi
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-02-01 至 2023-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2105899&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Lignin; derived; antimicrobials; control

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.

该 I-Corps 项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可持续的抗生素替代品，由已知的废物流（木质素）生产，用于燃料乙醇工业中的传统抗生素，例如维吉尼亚霉素。或青霉素预防性地引入发酵过程中，以减少细菌污染的发生。然而，此类抗生素的广泛使用增加了抗生素抗性微生物的出现，对人类造成了越来越大的风险。健康和环境方面，这些抗生素已被证明持续存在于下游副产品中，例如酒糟，这正成为喂养副产品的牲畜消费者的主要关注点，因此，新型抗菌剂的生产还具有类似的选择性。毒性、更好的生物降解性和对抗生素抗性细菌菌株的有效性将在工业酵母发酵环境中具有很高的市场价值和有用性，如果成功商业化，所提出的创新可以为工业消费者提供可持续衍生的抗生素产品，以对抗发酵过程中的污染，而无需使用抗生素。此外，木质素废物流的增值产品的价值可能使未来基于木质纤维素的生物精炼厂更具成本效益。该 I-Corps 项目基于开发由木质素废物生产的抗生素替代品。木质素是地球上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的主要废物。尽管木质素衍生的抗菌剂具有广泛的抗氧化和抗菌特性，但其选择性较差，因此限制了其实际应用，该技术通过将木质素转化为具有成本效益且可生物降解的抗菌产品来提供潜在的解决方案。通过在温和反应下将木质素氧化解聚成液体产物，消除细菌污染并提高燃料乙醇发酵过程中的乙醇产量。条件下，所得产品对乳酸菌（包括抗生素耐药菌株）表现出选择性抗菌特性，而不影响酵母生长和水解酶活性。概念验证已在实验室规模上得到证实，但该技术的进一步发展需要更好地了解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。