Large-scale production of hyaluronic acid using agro-industrial residues and its application for functionalization of substrates for tumor cell detection

• Grant number: 23/01628-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Technology
• Agreement: CNPq
• Principal Investigator: Marisa Masumi Beppu
• Grantee: Marisa Masumi Beppu
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/12980-3 - Functionalization of microfabricated devices aiming at the selective capture of circulating tumor cells for diagnostic purposes, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/13996-9 - Large-scale production of hyaluronic acid using agro-industrial residues and its application for functionalization of substrates for tumor cell detection, BP.JD

Abstract

The global hyaluronic acid (HA) sales market reached 8.5 billion dollars in 2020, with an expected annual growth of 7.19% until 2028. HA is considered a high value-added product, featuring advanced technology , serving for the most diverse applications, including segments of ophthalmology, orthopedics, periodontics and especially in aesthetic procedures, being widely used as a dermal filler for grooves (nasogenian, mentolabial and nasojugal), in facial "volumization" and in rejuvenation. As main properties, HA exhibits high hygroscopicity, excellent mechanical properties, non-toxicity, in addition to presenting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this sense, its use has been extended to the development of new systems for the controlled release of drugs and the creation of three-dimensional platforms for the cultivation of cells. For the production of HA by fermentative route, bacteria belonging to the genus Streptococcus of groups A and C are usually used, focusing on the strain ATCC 39920, which guarantees high productivity of HA. Bearing in mind that 80% of the microbial HA production cost is involved with the need for a high demand for carbon and nitrogen sources from commercial formulations, its large-scale production is a limiting factor. In this sense, this project proposes to optimize the cultivation of the ATCC 39920 bacteria in different media, containing different percentages of residues from the orange juice production chain, specifically the bagasse, which contains soluble carbohydrates, cellulose, and prospectin , pectin, flavonoids, amino acids and vitamin C. It is expected to optimize the culture medium in order to generate a reduction in production costs of HA on a large scale, carry out all the purification and characterization steps of the polymer, as well as propose at the end of the design an optimized culture medium that is patented, in addition to a product that is economically viable and profitable. It is important to point out that the conscious reuse of these industrial wastes is of paramount environmental and social importance, in order to reduce the damage caused by their indiscriminate disposal. In addition, the HA produced will be used for the functionalization of standardized substrates via layer-by-layer (LbL) for the selective capture of tumor cells. (AU)