SBIR-STTR Award

X-Therma Inc. aims to deliver highly effective, non-toxic cryoprotective agents (CPAs) using unique peptidomimetic polymers which not only mimic the outstanding ice inhibiting effects of naturally occurring antifreeze proteins, but also conquer the cons such as high cost and protease degradation. Widely used biopreservation media contain DMSO above cytotoxic concentrations, an unavoidable concern for successful organ/tissue preservation, but remain largely unchanged due to their low cost. Our proposal aims to demonstrate the feasible use of non-toxic, short-chain biomimetic polymers that will manage the growth of ice crystals to sizes compatible with cellular subsistence during cooling and rewarming. X-Therma Inc. benefits significantly as a User Affiliate of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where we have access to state-of-the-art robotic synthesizers and the worlds most renowned authority in this field. We will leverage our distinctive chemical expertise to develop ice controlling biomimetics as commercially favorable additives in cryoprotectant solutions allowing for the substantial reduction of cytotoxic DMSO. Additional funding support will speed the development of a complete cryoprotectant media for advanced organ and tissue preservation allowing cutting-edge surgical techniques for service members and civilians. These chemicals offer non-line of sight industrial applications as ice prevention coatings, hydrating cosmetic additives, and frozen dairy additives.

On-demand cell and tissue samples are critical for both mass trauma care and advanced personalized medical procedures and continue to grow in importance. Biological tissue banks to support these on-demand applications lack safe and effective long-term storage methods. Current cryopreservation techniques and protocols use toxic cryoprotective agents that prevent successful full viability recovery of therapeutic cells, tissues, and organs and hinder the logistics of biobanking and advanced regenerative medicine. This lack of a hyper-effective and safe alternative leads to wide spread use of toxic cryoprotectants.Preventing ice remains a physical and chemical problem and innovative cryoprotectants can be realized using new chemistries. In Phase I, we developed a fundamentally different approach to cryoprotectant discovery and our first low-toxicity biomimetic antifreeze that is chemically stable at a variety of temperatures (-196C to 250C), hundreds of times more effective, and far less toxic at effective concentration.In Phase II, we will examine these properties in greater detail while developing our commercial storage solutions to protect cells and tissues. We will do this by targeting the preservation of valuable hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for bone marrow transplant and show scale-up of this technology by preserving murine hearts below freezing temperatures before surgical transplantation.