Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Biostorex LLC received a $303,998 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) under CFDA 47.084, effective January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027. The award funds development of novel enzymatic DNA-synthesis technology designed to enable scalable and sustainable long-term digital data storage. The research addresses the limitations of current DNA-writing methods by investigating light-responsive enzyme modifications that could eliminate repeated wash and reset steps, thereby reducing synthesis time, reagent consumption, and system complexity. Research objectives include identifying optimal enzyme modification sites, establishing methods for incorporating light-sensitive amino acids, producing modified enzymes, and validating light-based reversible control of enzymatic activity while maintaining nucleotide selectivity.

The Phase I proof-of-concept effort focuses on short DNA-writing experiments in the 50-60 nucleotide range, with potential extension to longer sequences contingent on performance results. If successful, this technology could support new products for secure, durable archival storage applicable to government archives, research institutions, health data repositories, and other organizations requiring decades-long information preservation. By reducing costs, physical space requirements, and energy consumption associated with current archival media replacement and migration cycles, the project addresses critical needs in both the biotechnology and information technology sectors.