This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project was aimed at demonstrating that a particular surfactant can be produced by fermentation.  Surfactants are the bubbly components of cleaning products that give them their cleansing power.  Surfactants are manufactured from petroleum or from seed oils, such as palm oil.  The use of those raw materials increases greenhouse gas pollution and also leads to deforestation of rainforest.  Major retailers are demanding “greener” products, and regulatory agencies are demanding new minimally toxic chemicals.  The demand for greener chemicals creates an opportunity to replace today’s surfactants with greener alternatives.    

                Modular Genetics, Inc. (Modular) develops  engineered microorganisms that convert underutilized agricultural material into chemicals.  For example, Modular has developed strains the produce surfactants by:  consuming underutilized agricultural material (carbohydrate, such as cellulosic material), converting it into a fatty acid (an oil) and an amino acid, and linking those two natural substances together to produce a bio-surfactant.  The goal of this project was to determine whether Modular’s technology can be used to produce a specific new bio-surfactant composed of fatty acid linked to the amino acid glycine (an “acyl glycinate”).

                Modular developed the strain, showed that the acyl glycinate was produced and demonstrated that it can be purified to a greater than 99% purity using green methods that involve the use of only energy and water.   Modular shipped a sample of the acyl glycinate to a large consumer products company for evaluation and they confirmed the specific composition and purity of the bio-surfactant.   The work done by Modular, in collaboration with the consumer products company, resulted in the successful completion of all of the objectives of the Phase I project. 

In alignment with the goals described in the National Bioeconomy Blueprint, recently released by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, this specific project used the methods of  “synthetic biology” to produce a  “novel chemical or biomolecule difficult or impossible to produce using current technologies”.  Commercialization of the bio-surfactant described here would create U.S. jobs across many sectors of the economy.  For example, a manufacturing facility is anticipated.  Additional 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.  Successful completion of the project also generated significant new scientific and technical information that will increase the rate at which additional new bio-surfactants can be made using this approach.

Last Modified: 07/02/2013
Modified by: Kevin Jarrell