Microvi Awarded NIEHS Grant to Develop Cutting-Edge Biotechnology Platform for Water Remediation
Microvi Biotechnologies has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to develop a new biotechnology platform that removes recalcitrant organic water pollutants, the company announced today.
The technology called MB-COMET™, based on Microvi’s MicroNiche Engineering™ technology, is a versatile biocatalytic solution based on the nexus of advanced materials science and microbial ecology. The technology targets the cometablic treatment of major contaminants in water, such as chlorinated solvents or NDMA (N–Nitrosodimethylamine), which are resistant to degradation.
Existing technologies to remove recalcitrant water pollutants have proven to be prohibitively expensive.
Microvi’s effective, low-cost solution will use novel synthetic biocatalyst composites to degrade those pollutants to levels below regulatory limits.
“Our multidisciplinary approach to developing this new platform technology will offer a reliable, cost-effective solution to the chronic problem of recalcitrant water pollutants,” said Fatemeh Shirazi, CEO of Microvi.
Many recalcitrant organic contaminants, including NDMA and chlorinated solvents, are carcinogens and can cause severe liver, kidney, and nervous system damage. NDMA is a potent carcinogen and an emerging groundwater, wastewater and drinking water pollutant in the world. Chlorinated solvents are one of the most commonly found contaminants because of their widespread historical use, according to the US EPA.
About the NIEHS
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is a world leader in environmental health sciences, with the mission of promoting human health by discovering how the environment affects people. The NIEHS is based in North Carolina and is part of the National Institutes of Health.
About Microvi
Microvi is a green technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area that delivers next-generation biotechnologies for the water, wastewater and renewable chemical industries. Microvi offers commercial technologies around the world to reduce waste, increase productivity and provide disruptive economics across the value chain. Learn more at www.microvi.com.
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