SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Nanolipoprotein Particles as a Platform for “ex vivo” Rubber Biosynthesis
- Notice Date
- 6/26/2014
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 238990
— All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DOE Contractor), Industrial Partnerships & Commercialization, 7000 East Avenue, L-795, Livermore, California, 94550
- ZIP Code
- 94550
- Solicitation Number
- FBO288-14
- Archive Date
- 7/29/2014
- Point of Contact
- Connie L Pitcock, Phone: 925-422-1072
- E-Mail Address
-
pitcock1@llnl.gov
(pitcock1@llnl.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Nanolipoprotein Particles as a Platform for "ex vivo" Rubber Biosynthesis Opportunity : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to collaborate on the development and/or license an NLP technology platform that supports enzymatic biosynthesis of natural rubber, i.e. plant-free natural rubber synthesis. Background : There is a large global demand by many types of manufacturers for natural rubber (NR), amongst the largest of which are tire manufacturers. Michelin is number one followed by Goodyear. NR is preferable to artificially produced forms of latex. A typical passenger car tire contains ~50% NR and basic aircraft tires can contain up to 90% NR. Irrespective, it has been projected recently that demand for tires will be as high as 3.3 billion units by 2015. The demand for NR will soon challenge established NR production capabilities: plantations in Southeast Asia where rubber trees are cultivated and manually tapped giving crude rubber latex material. Four countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia provide >70% of the world's rubber supply; the remainder comes largely from India and Brazil. China recently has built large tire manufacturing capabilities and is purchasing NR from these same countries and will compete more aggressively on a global scale. Presently, the US is the largest consumer of tires in the world; the US military is amongst the largest single user of tires. The US Congress has declared NR as "a commodity of vital importance to the economy, the defense and the general well-being of the Nation" (Critical Agricultural Materials Act, Public Law 107-293, Nov 12, 2002, Sec 2 07 U.S.C 178). In search of a secure domestic production capability for NR, LLNL together with USDA scientists have developed a scalable nanoparticle technology that enables biosynthesis of natural rubber. Description : In collaboration with USDA, LLNL has developed and tested in vitro (or ex vivo) production of natural rubber polymer by using NLP-stabilized rubber transferase Advantages : The overall advantage is creation/development of a molecular process that results in a rubber production capability - that is essentially plant-free. The latter will lead to domestic NR supply, and lessen dependency on imported material. Achieving this goal on a molecular scale and understanding the basic science underpinning rubber biosynthesis will eventually enable development of scalable ex vivo processes that could lead to a secure supply of a critical raw material as well as lowering overall raw material and production costs; it is anticipated. The primary commercial application of this process will be to supply a domestically produced raw material. The overall advantage would be that natural rubber (NR) would become a domestically produced raw material, possibly becoming a commodity. Potential Applications : •· Tire manufacturing •· Medical supplies, e.g. rubber/latex examination gloves, surgical tubing •· Automotive industry (beyond tires), e.g. tubing and hoses, engine seals, etc. •· Toy industry, e.g. rubber ducks, etc.. Feature Benefit Biotechnological-based approach using rubber biosynthetic enzymes to produce natural rubber. Enable domestic production of natural rubber or NR. stabilize membrane associated rubber transferase biosynthetic enzyme complex. Facilitate ex vivo or plant free NR bio-synthesis allow screening of multiple complexes stabilized by LLNL NLP technology. Identify optimal formulation for maximal NR production. Development Status: In collaboration with scientists at USDA, ARS, Albany, CA, we have demonstrated that NLP constructs stabilized a population of nanoparticles capable of producing polyisoprene. The technology is at an early stage of development (between technical readiness level (TRL) 1 and 2). LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Please visit the IPO website at for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's "Nanolipoprotein Particles as a Platform for "ex vivo" Rubber Biosynthesis" should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. •3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Industrial Partnerships Office P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO 288-14 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's "Nanolipoprotein Particles as a Platform for "ex vivo" Rubber Biosynthesis".
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/LLNL/LL/FBO288-14/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03406964-W 20140628/140626234540-7213695d2675138fe74d063bd378df93 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |