STTR Phase I: Low-Cost Production of Agricultural Peptides Using Semi-Continuous Fermentation

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a manufacturing platform that reduces production costs, enabling broader access to safer, more sustainable products. This technology supports national goals to strengthen domestic biomanufacturing capacity and reduce reliance on chemical inputs. The proposed project will develop and validate a semi-continuous bacterial fermentation system integrated with simplified purification methods that eliminate expensive chromatography steps. Traditional protein manufacturing relies on batch production with costly, time-intensive processes that require extensive customization for each new product. These limitations make production economically viable only at very large scales, excluding many applications where demand is more modest. Additionally, scaling up batch processes from laboratory to commercial scale is technically risky and often fails due to unforeseen challenges. This project addresses three technical challenges: maintaining stable protein production over extended operation without genetic drift, integrating multiple processing steps into a coordinated continuous system, and protecting sensitive peptide products from degradation during purification. The research will establish operating parameters through computational modeling and validate a laboratory-scale prototype system. Success will be measured by achieving target expression levels, purification yields above ninety percent, and continuous operation for seventy-two hours or longer without performance decline. 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 Award ID: 2538032 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Romel Menacho Melgar | Institution: ROKE BIOTECHNOLOGIES LLC, DURHAM, NC | Award Amount: $305,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2538032 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2538032.html