Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

Harvesting specific plant metabolites from hairy root cultures using magnetized nanoparticles

Award Number: R44AT008312
ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/01/2014
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2020

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Harvesting specific plant metabolites from hairy root cultures using magnetized nanoparticles - Abstract: Plant cell cultures are becoming a commercially valuable source of pharmaceuticals, particularly those that are too complex for economical chemical synthesis. For example Phyton Biotech, in Germany, has achieved great commercial success by generating taxoids for Paclitaxel production in sterile plant cell bioreactors. However, the efficiency of these systems is limited by the loss in viability of the slow-growing plant cells associated with conventional extraction procedures. The objective here is to develop a system that allows plant cells to be harvested repeatedly for high value pharmaceutical products without losing viability. Phase I demonstrated that nanoparticles can be functionalized to enter plant cells and bind specific bioactive flavonoid metabolites before being extruded, and these metabolites recovered, all without loss of plant cell viability. Phase II now aims to demonstrate that a similar, but more selective, approach can be used to harvest higher value pharmaceuticals from plant cells (i.e. proof of application). The most valuable types of metabolite currently produced from plants include isoflavones, alkaloids and monoclonal antibodies (the latter from transgenic plants). Phase II aims to show that each of these types of product can be harvested from plant cells by their selective binding to nanoparticles on which specific oligopeptides have been conjugated. Each product example is relevant to anti-cancer therapeutics. The first is the phytoestrogen, liquiritigenin, which is a selective agonist of the estrogen receptor (ER)beta that should reduce risk of breast cancer post-menopause. This flavanone will be harvested from overproducing mutant cultures of licorice root by selective binding to the ERbeta ligand-binding oligopeptide conjugated to nanoparticles. The second example is to nanoharvest the chemotherapeutic vinca alkaloids (currently extracted from intact plant material by Eli Lilly) from overproducing mutant cultures of Catharanthus roseus. These alkaloids will be harvested by affinity to nanoparticles bearing oligopeptides representing their binding sites on human tubulin. These two examples are natural metabolites, but the most commercially important application of this technology may be to harvest foreign polypeptides, i.e. “biologics”, such as antibodies, from transgenic plant cells. Here the example will be the harvesting from transgenic tobacco cell cultures of a monoclonal antibody (mAbH10) directed against tumor cells. Selective binding will be achieved using nanoparticles in which an oligopeptide mimicking the antibody-binding site on the antigen has been conjugated to the surface. In all of these examples the objective is to show that nanoparticles can repeatedly remove the desired commercial product without loss of plant cell viability. This will reduce “down time” and could also reduce “response time”, for example the urgent requirement for antibodies or vaccines in an outbreak of disease. In addition, separation of product by affinity to an oligopeptide binding site means that the harvested products will be simultaneously semi-purified. Phase II should demonstrate proof of application for the nanoparticle harvesting technology as applied to high value anti-cancer pharmaceuticals. The applicants will then move toward commercialization in partnership with identified pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the US and Europe (see Commercialization Plan).


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = -$78,407 )
2020	2018	NAPROGENIX, INC.	UK-ASTECC 145 GRAHAM AVE	LEXINGTON	KY	40506	FAYETTE	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	3	7/27/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$78,407
														Subtotal = -$78,407

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $498,691 )
2018	2018	NAPROGENIX, INC.	UK-ASTECC 145 GRAHAM AVE	LEXINGTON	KY	40506	FAYETTE	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	3	3/23/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$498,691
														Subtotal = $498,691

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $530,326 )
2017	2017	NAPROGENIX, INC.	KTRDC-UK 1401 UNVERSITY DR	LEXINGTON	KY	40546	FAYETTE	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	2	3/28/2017	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$530,326
														Subtotal = $530,326

Grand Total All Awards = $950,610

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Harvesting specific plant metabolites from hairy root cultures using magnetized nanoparticles

Award Number: R44AT008312

ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/01/2014

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2020

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer