David T. Smernoff, Ph.D.

david@heliobiosys.com

July 19th, 2018

BIO World Congress

Production of biopolymers from

Cyanobacteria

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Who are the Cyanobacteria?

2

µ

Cyanobacteria First O2 producing photosynthesizers

Highest photosynthetic efficiency of all organisms

Created oxygenic atmosphere

Worldwide distribution: oceans, freshwater, soils & deserts.

Robust, prolific, well adapted to varying environmental conditions (poles to

equator).

Some marine species excrete complex polysaccharides outside cell

Prevent desiccation

Protect from UV damage

Protection from predators

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Key competitive

advantagessunlight

seawateryes no

consortium fresh water

Unique polymers arable land

nitrogen fixation GMOs

Stable, resilient fertilizers

Salt water pond mixture of

marine cyanobacteria

Air (N2)

(CO2)

Our raw ingredients are ...

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Lab-Scale Cultivation

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5L Carboy Self-funded laboratory

150 L Indoor Aquarium 500 L Outdoor “Pond”

Cultivation Scale-up

U.S. DOE Small Business Vouchers Pilot

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80L Innoculation reactors 1000L Indoor Raceway ponds

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Sandia National Laboratory Scale-up

DOE Grants

Seedling 2015

SBV 2017-2018

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Access to talented DOE scientists and well-equipped facilities

Harvest Process

Pump from ponds to 250 gallon totes

Separate biomass from EPS Concentrate EPS

Downstream Processing

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Continuous Flow Centrifugation Tangential Flow Filtration Evaluate additional membrane types,

geometries, and porosities

Investigate techniques to reduce

viscosity (higher temp, etc)

Longer term testing to assess fouling

effects and achieve steady state

Improve performance at higher flow rates

Investigate physical or chemical treatment to

improve separation (temp, pH, etc)

Investigate polishing technologies to remove

residual cells and cell debris (depth filtration)

Cyanobacterial Biopolymers

The Evolution of Sunscreen

UVB Broad

Spectrum

UVB & UVA

II1930 -1940

No UVA

1970 -1990

Multiple ingredients

No UVA 1

2000’s

Multiple ingredients

2018

Single ingredient

Harsh UV on early Earth ~ 2.5 billion years ago!

Getting into the Market: Cosmetics• UV Absorbance

• UVA - reduction by 93% + 5%

• UVB - reduction by 96% + 5%

• Anti-aging properties

• Moisturizing properties

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Concentrated EPS and Hydrogel

VisibleUV

B

UVC

UV

A

Ph

yco

cyan

in

Next Steps Transition cultivation to outdoor setting in open ponds

Complete material properties analysis

Biodegradation and compostability studies

Sunscreen Ingredient Analysis

SPF Factor

Allergenicity

Skin Testing

Bioplastic Applications

Microbead production

Thin film production, barrier properties analysis

SummaryCyanobacteria consortium demonstrates robust growth and polymer

production in open ponds

System stable for 5 months of continuous operation

Metagenomic analysis – heterotrophs and predators (protists) present but do not significantly impact growth and EPS production

Polymer viscosity complicates downstream processing

Consumer demand for safe, effective sunscreens

Consumer and regulatory demands for bio-derived alternatives to fossil fuel derived products.

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Back-up slides

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Nature’s First Sunscreen• Cyanobacteria produced UV protective materials over 2.5 billion

years ago

• UV radiation on early Earth was more intense then than now (no ozone layer UVC!)

• Most sunscreens contain chemicals or mineral oxides that are hazards to humans, the environment or both

• Consumers demanding safer alternatives that are effective and do not contain hazardous ingredients

• Regulations now limiting chemical sunscreens to protect the environment (e.g. coral reefs in Hawai’i)

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The

Founding

Team

• Rocco Mancinelli, Ph.D. Founder, CEO– UC Boulder, Microbial Ecology

– Population dynamics of mixed microbial systems

• David Smernoff, Ph.D. Founder, CTO– Stanford, Physiological Ecology

– Controlled ecosystem development, bioreactor design

• Charles Krenz, Business Development, Advisor– UC Davis Engineering, Stanford MBA

– Operations, Logistics, Finance

• Daniel Gordon, Diplom-Ingenieur. Advisor– UC Berkeley, Tech. Univ. of Munich, Gordon Biersch Brewery

– Commercial scale microbe propagation, commercialization

• Robert Andersen, Ph.D., Technical Advisor– Director Emeritus, Provosolli-Guillard CCMP culture collection

• Sidley Austin, corporate and IP18