SBIR Phase II: Protein isolate serum replacement solutions

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to enable lower-cost biomanufacturing applications. This project will develop a replacement for one of the most expensive media ingredients, creating a more scalable path for growing cells in sterile facilities. By converting plant-based materials into higher-value cell culture ingredients, this project could also support less expensive supply chains and new domestic biomanufacturing capabilities. The work will improve understanding of how proteins can support cell growth, reduce cost barriers for emerging food technologies. The proposed project will develop and validate an alternative protein ingredient that replaces recombinant albumin. The research will scale a low-cost extraction and purification process from laboratory scale to pilot manufacturing scale, characterize the resulting material for consistency and stability, and test whether it supports muscle and fat cell growth and differentiation as well as albumin-containing control media. The project will use protein analysis, solubility testing, storage stability studies, lot-to-lot reproducibility measurements, and cell-based performance assays. The anticipated result is a reproducible pilot-scale process and validated media component that maintains cell growth and differentiation performance while reducing dependence on high-cost recombinants. 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.