Project Grant 20203361031998

Exopolymer, Inc. received a $648,366 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop new fermentation-derived biopolymer ingredients. Under this two-year award running from September 2021 to August 2023, Exopolymer will finalize the commercial development of one or more biopolymer products that outperform hyaluronic acid in moisture binding and skin penetration performance. Work will include...

This three-year, $600,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund research at the University of California, Davis to develop a scalable and sustainable process for nano-cellulose production by leveraging the surface activity of hydrophobin bio-surfactants. The goal is to improve the rate and extent of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose for conversion into nano-cellulose and value-added fuels and chemicals. Researchers will examine how...

This three-year, $600,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will fund research at the University of Virginia to develop a scalable and sustainable process for nano cellulose production by leveraging the surface activity of hydrophobin biosurfactants. The goal is to improve the rate and extent of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose for conversion into nano cellulose and value-added fuels and chemicals. Researchers will examine how hydrophobins...

This Project Grant award provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CFDA 47.041 Engineering) will support the development of novel manufacturing principles for high-performance, sustainable packaging films from hierarchically reinforced biopolymers. The $374,160 award to North Carolina State University aims to enable the production of natural material-based films that match or exceed the properties of synthetic polymer films,...

This $516,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program will support the development of injectable cellulose-based hydrogels for soft tissue bulking from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. The Research Foundation of the City University of New York, in partnership with the City University of New York, will engineer a stable yet reversible injectable soft tissue filler material derived from plant polysaccharides like cellulose. If successful,...

Federal Grant Award Summary Exopolymer, Inc. received a $181,129 Project Grant award from the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212) on September 15, 2025, with completion targeted for May 14, 2027. The project aims to develop and commercialize advanced biopolymers designed to enhance food stability and shelf life while reducing product waste. The company will evaluate biopolymer performance across multiple applications,...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) provides $424,389 to The Pennsylvania State University to develop novel thermosensitive hydrogel materials with enhanced design flexibility and controllable properties. The project aims to create a new class of thermogelling hydrogels using polymeric nanoparticles that form "sticky" patches at body temperature, enabling the formation of well-defined...

This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program provides $1,250,000 in funding to Biodevek Inc., a Boston-based small business, to advance the development of a novel hydrogel delivery system for managing gastrointestinal (GI) lesions and bleeding. The project aims to create the first sprayable hemostatic hydrogel solution for endoscopic procedures, with the potential to improve outcomes, reduce...

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $100,000 supports research into polyelectrolyte multilayered surfaces for use in human mesenchymal stem/stromal cell manufacturing. The goal is to develop a scalable and controllable polymeric coating composed of natural polymers to improve the cell expansion process used in producing therapeutic human mesenchymal stromal cells. The coating is constructed via layer-by-layer assembly of collagen and heparin and has been shown to increase cell...

This $300,000 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry aims to develop novel polymeric materials based on segmented polar-polyolefin copolymers with complex architectures. Professors Eva Harth at the University of Houston and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski at Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating on this 3-year effort, which seeks to advance energy storage materials and plastic upcycling capabilities. The key products and services to be delivered...