Recipient Organization
HALOMINE INC.
1411 HANSHAW RD
ITHACA,NY 148502730
Performing Department
Halomine, Inc
Non Technical Summary
Forty-eight million people suffer from foodborne illnesses every year and 3,000 people die. While the human cost is immense and tragic, the cost to food companies can be equally steep. The average cost of a recall for food processors can be as much as $10 million in direct costs, and, even worse, result in 50% drop in sales for the first year. Some food processing companies have been completely wiped out. The current sanitation protocols, namely daily applications of short-lived disinfectants, are clearly insufficient for today's complex food processing environment. Self-sanitizing coatings, i.e. antimicrobial surfaces, are an ideal theoretical solution for eliminating persistent pathogens; however there has been no commercially available antimicrobial material which can fulfill all requirements of high-efficacy against pathogens: easy to apply, broad material compatibility, no pathogen resistance development, and cost-effective.That makes HaloFilm™ a breakthrough product. HaloFilm is a spray-on product that when dried leaves a thin transparent film on a surface. The film is a polymer composed of one monomer to stick to the surface, and another monomer that stabilizes chlorine, i.e. N-halamine. HaloFilm turns the surface into a chlorine battery so using a chlorinated cleaning product will leave a surface covered with chlorine which can last days. HaloFilm, essentially a chlorine extender, relies on the efficacy of chlorine which has decades of use, and broad-spectrum efficacy against pathogen without generating pathogens with resistance.The value proposition for HaloFilm in this context is clear. There are two major scenarios where HaloFilm can be of benefit: (1) errant pathogens and incomplete cleaning procedures that don't kill all pathogens have a lower likelihood of resulting in tainted food products, and (2) biofilms, which are the bane of food processing plants, have less of a chance to talk hold from the start. At the same time, a formulation with zwitterion moieties in the polymer backbone may enhance the cleaning effort by reducing the likelihood of organic matter to stick to surfaces.Building on the successful results from our Phase I effort, we will pursue three objectives with this Phase II. First, we will perform additional product development to sufficiently characterize the base formulation of HaloFilm, and a formulation that includes additional elements in the polymeric backbone that might contribute to a reduced need for cleaning. Secondly, we will perform product performance studies to validate the anti-protein and anti-microbial function of HaloFilm on real food machine with controlled inoculation regimes. Thirdly, we will assess the manufacturing efforts and perform limited scale-up efforts to validate our manufacturing approach. The results of these efforts should demonstrated HaloFilm's features, performance and utility.HaloFilm is Halomine Inc.'s first product and is protected by exclusively licensed patents from Auburn University and Cornell University. Our business model is to make and sell HaloFilm with revenue coming from sales of product. We believe the market for disinfectants related to food safety is likely between $600 and $800 million with several times that spent on the activity, and believe we have a total available market of over $100 million. There are six initial target applications that encompass about 3,000 out of the 27,000 food manufacturing firms: frozen food, frozen desserts, seafood, pet food, cheese, and breakfast cereal.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
Our goal in Phase II is to transition from proof-of-concept to commercial applications that perform according to food processing customer expectations. Thus, four key initiatives are:Product Development: develop detailed product specifications, validation plans, and manufacturing process implementation & quality control plan for HaloFilm.Product Validation: execute the validation plan by creating prototype materials that represent production intent and completing testing that represents product duty cycles.Scaleup & Manufacturing: prove feasibility of large-scale manufacturing of productSafety & Regulation: clear the regulatory pathway for food contact surface application.These initiatives translate into the following technical objectives:Technical Objective 1 Develop product specifications for HaloFilm that meet customer expectations, create a plan to effectively validate HaloFilm usefulness, and establish a plan for manufacturing at scale. Successful accomplishment of this objective will provide the roadmap for producing a product that can meet market needs.Technical Objective 2 Validate the functionality and durability of HaloFilm under industry-representative conditions using production-intent prototype product. Successful accomplishment of this objective will confirm fit-for-use of HaloFilm for food processors.Technical Objective 3 Demonstrate production feasibility through a pilot-scale system to manufacture and package the product. Successful accomplishment of this objective will demonstrate feasibility of large-scale manufacturing of product.Technical Objective 4 Establish an optimal regulatory strategy and acquire test data for submission to EPA and FDA. Successful accomplishment of this objective will provide regulatory agencies with prepare products ready-to-sale in the end of phase II project. ?
Project Methods
Task 1. Synthesize variations of HaloFilm and HaloFilmzw copolymers for process optimization and in support of future testing.We will synthesize copolymers using 9 different monomer feeding ratios. There will be a total of 3×3×9 = 81 sets of experiment to run. Dissolve all polymer products in suitable solvents and run Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) to confirm product and molecule weight distribution.Task 2. Optimize the alcohol-based formula for delivery of HaloFilm onto surfaces.We will optimize this solvent in order to save cost. Each polymer produced in task 1 will be tested to find solubility in ethanol or IPA within solution ranging between 30/70 to 80/20 alcohol/water (vol%) at polymer concentration of 1.0 mg/mL. Sonication and/or heat to 60 °C may be used to achieve complete dissolution. After 24 h in storage, any undissolved particles will be identified using a laser pen.Task 3. Compare anti-fouling and biofilm inhibition function of HaloFilm vs HaloFilmzw. Both anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibition tests will be performed on 316 stainless steel surfaces treated with formulations obtained from Task 1 plus charging using sodium hypochlorite solution. Titration will be performed to confirm N-halamine function. Testing will be in accordance with previously published methods. 1) Anti-protein adhesion test: Human fibrinogen proteins tagged with a green fluorescent dye will be applied to the samples followed by incubation for 30 min. After washing with DI water, residue proteins adhered on sample surfaces will be quantified using fluorescence microscopy. 2) Anti-Listeria biofilm test: In parallel, samples will be tested for the ability to prevent Listeria biofilms following the same dry biofilm formation method used in our phase I research. Data analysis: Results will be analyzed using statistical software. For HaloFilmzw, formulations with significant better (P < 0.05) compared with HaloFilm0 formulation in either one of two above mentioned test will be selected for the follow-on testing.Task 4. Repeat Phase I performance testing on optimized HaloFilm formula.The following additional tests will be performed to verify performance of an optimized formula:1) Expanded Scrub Test: scrub test performed in phase I will be expanded to include antimicrobial efficacy after various scrub cycles and using 2 different abrasive pads. 2) HaloFilm Application Under Extreme Environmental Conditions: Apply HaloFilm from Task 1 onto a range of materials at temperatures of 4 °C and 40 °C and high relative humidity. Evaluate coating characteristics using visual inspection and chlorine titer. 3) Repetitive Application Evaluation: Apply HaloFilm repeatedly to simulate a 12-month operational pattern. Briefly, Halofilm will be applied to a range of substrates on a daily basis for 52 days. On a 3-times per day cycle, 200 ppm chlorine solution will be applied and allowed to dry on the surface between HaloFilm application cycles. 4) HaloFilm Impact on Base Materials: To assess risk of corrosion or other deleterious effect on stainless steel, HaloFilm treated samples will be tested with accelerated corrosion or degradation test according to ASTM G31-72 Determination of Metal Corrosion Rate.Task 5. Complete a functional trial of HaloFilm under typical food processing and daily sanitation conditions.After installation (including floor drain and plumbing), enclosure & ventilation, and functional runoff of the equipment within our microbiology facility, the enclosed space will be inspected and designated as approved for BSL-2 experiments by Cornell facilities staff based on CDC guidelines. Data analysis: chlorine levels will be recorded and plotted with time, machine surface effects will be visually monitored, and product use issues will be logged by testers.Task 6. Validate the protein anti-adhesion function for the simulated plant condition using published food models. Three different food equipment surfaces (stainless steel, polypropylene, rubber) of the Lombi machine will selected for testing. One half of the area will be treated with HaloFilm and the remainder left as control. Five different food proteins, egg, milk, gluten, fish, and soy, will be applied to the surfaces, allowed to rest for 4 hours, then cleaned using a standard sanitation SOP (no scrubbing). After the cleaning cycle, the surface will be tested for protein residue using a commercial testing kit (3M™ Clean-Trace™ Surface Protein Plus Test Swab PRO100) according to manufacturer's instruction. Data analysis: residual protein will be recorded using Clean-Trace™ Luminometer.Task 7. Validate the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm function against Lm for the simulated plant condition. Microbial preventive control against a Lm cocktail will be evaluated in RTE food models based on previously reported methods. Data analysis: Results from at least triplicate samples will be combined for statistical analysis. The log CFU reduction of bacteria on HaloFilm-modified vs. uncoated samples will be compared at a significant level of P=0.05.Task 8. Scale up polymer manufacturing to 1 kg/batch using 10 L reactor.We will scale our current 10 mL reaction system in two steps: a 200 mL reaction system followed by a 10 L reaction system. Quality control plans will be developed based on NMR and GPC on an audit basis to see the chemical structure and molecular weight distribution at key control points in the process.Task 9. Scale up formulation and packaging system to 1 metric ton/batchPackaging process will be demonstrated using a 1-ton batch scale. Alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol) will be received and chemically verified to meet specification. Final formation will be produced by mixing the desired concentration of alcohol (e.g. 70%) with polymer+ additives until completely dissolved. For scale-up trials, a manual-pour operation will be implemented aided by holding fixtures, scales, and jigs to simulate automated bottling & capping operations in 1-gallon containers. Quality control plans will be implemented based on weight, Cl tritration, and concentration via UV/vis spectroscopy.Task 10. Perform food contact substance migration test (subcontract to USDA ARS).Migration tests will be conducted as described in: US FDA Guidance for Industry: Preparation of Premarket Submissions for Food Contact Substances (Chemistry Recommendations). Three HaloFilm coated substrate materials (n=30) provided by Halomine will be tested using the FDA migration tests for overall and specific migration. Specific migration (n=100) will be conducted using non-targeted analysis with gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) (orbitrap MS) and targeted analysis with GC- and LC-MS/MS triple quadrupole tandem MS. Data analysis: Specific migration tests will be focused on monomers described in "Scalable and rechargeable antimicrobial coating for food safety applications" by Qiao et al, J. of Agric. Food Chem. 2018. Additionally, food simulants after the migration study will be tested for extractable and leachable (E&L) chemicals currently available in existing MS databases (ThermoFisher Scientific E&L database, MS NIST spectral library, m/z cloud, etc.).