SBIR Phase I: Development of a Large-scale Process for Production of Vault-Stabilized Enzymes for Industrial Uses and Environmental Cleanup

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a large-scale process for production of vault-stabilized enzymes. This project will develop a new nanoparticle-based technology for stabilizing enzymes so that they can be used for industrial applications and environmental cleanup such as water treatment. By employing a scalable, high yield, low cost manufacturing system for vault-enzymes, the company would be able to deploy a variety of new products into the field for treating certain environmental pollutants in drinking water, groundwater, wastewater, and reclaimed water. This would give environmental engineers and regulatory agencies new tools to clean and protect national natural resources and public health. The technical objectives in this Phase I research project are to develop a yeast-based production system for nano-scale vault particles. Vault nanoparticles are promising candidates to stabilize and enhance the performance of enzymes for catalytic industrial applications and biotransformation. The packaging of enzymes into vault particles combines enzyme purification and immobilization into a single manufacturing step, and is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly approach for immobilizing and protecting enzymes. Demonstrating feasibility of this system will allow simple integration of vault-enzymes into industrial manufacturing systems and would allow vault enzyme prototypes to be rapidly scaled up and deployed for specific environmental remediation targets.