SBIR Phase I: Development of biocompatible and biodegradable UV filters based on food-grade protein sources

Award ID: 2136707

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of novel sunscreens and UV-protective products that are safer for both humans and the environment. Sunscreen protects the skin by absorbing or reflecting the suns harmful UV rays,preventing premature skin aging, painful burns, and skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., and results in treatment costs reaching $3.3 billion annually. UV-filtering active ingredients in sunscreens have been under scrutiny because of the safety risks they pose to humans and the environment. Current UV filters can be absorbed by the skin, cause hormone disruption, and persist and accumulate in the environment, where they can harm wildlife and disrupt marine ecosystems. This project will advance the development of novel sunscreens and UV filters composed of naturally occurring, food-safe peptides containing UV-absorbing amino acids. These compounds are photo-stable, biodegradable, non-absorbing, and safe for both humans and the environment, and they will have high impact in the fields of skin care and biosafe food packaging. Because they can be produced at relatively low cost, they also have the potential to take a considerable share of the $13 billion sunscreen industry. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to complete the following objectives: 1) Develop sunscreen peptides from widely available food-grade sources and scale to 100 g to show cost-competitiveness with current xenobiotic sunscreen compounds and reproducibility; 2) Optimize peptides to improve their UVabsorbance and investigate heterologous expression in bacteria; and 3) Evaluate peptide chemical stability, photo-stability, and confirm non-absorption. This will achieve the overall Phase I goal of reproducibly generating safe and biodegradable UV-absorbing peptides at the 100 g scale, with initial stability studies conducted. This work will lay the foundation for future efforts including independent safety studies, kg-scale production, and clinical trials to result in the first new over-the-counter sunscreen active ingredient introduced in over 35 years. 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.

NSF Program Director: Anna Brady-Estevez