WO 2013/188858 A2 O
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(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization I International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date WO 2013/188858 A2 19 December 2013 (19.12.2013) P O P C T (51) International Patent Classification: 61/689,939 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) US C02F 3/34 (2006.01) 61/689,935 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us 61/689,933 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us (21) International Application Number: 61/689,932 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us PCT/US20 13/04603 7 61/689,930 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us (22) International Filing Date: 61/689,929 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us 14 June 2013 (14.06.2013) 61/689,925 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us 61/689,924 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us (25) Filing Language: English 61/689,923 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us (26) Publication Language: English 61/689,922 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us 61/689,921 15 June 2012 (15 06.2012) us (30) Priority Data: 61/849,725 1 February 20 13 (01 02.2013) us 61/689,953 15 June 2012 (15.06.2012) US 61/850,63 1 20 February 2013 (20 02.2013) us 61/689,945 15 June 2012 (15.06.2012) US 61/85 1,467 8 March 2013 (08 03.2013) us 61/689,943 15 June 2012 (15.06.2012) us 61/852,45 1 15 March 2013 (15 03.2013) us 61/689,940 15 June 2012 (15.06.2012) us [Continued on nextpage] (54) Title: NOVEL BIOCATALYST COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESSES FOR USE (57) Abstract: The microorganism-containing biocatalysts disclosed have a large population of the microorganisms irreversibly retained in the in terior of the biocatalysts. The biocatalysts possess a surprisingly stable population of microorganisms and have an essential absence of debris generation from metabolic activity of the microorganisms. The biocata lysts are composed of highly hydrophilic polymer and have an internal, open, porous structure that promotes community phenotypic changes. FIGURE 1 < oo o 00 00 FIGURE 2 o o w o 2013/188858 A2 1II III II II III I I11 III I I II II II ll ll I III i ll (71) Applicant: MICROVI BIOTECH INC. [US/US]; ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, 26229 Eden Landing Road, Hayward, CA 94587 (US). NO, NZ, OM, PA, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, QA, RO, RS, RU, RW, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, (72) Inventors: RAZAVI-SHIRAZI, Fatemeh; 28839 Bay TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, Heights Road, Hayward, CA 94542 (US). DORRI, Mo¬ ZA, ZM, ZW. hammad, Ali; 600 South Abel Street #321, Milpitas, CA 95035 (US). DORRI-NOWKOORANI, Farhad; 33 132 (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every Navarro Dr., Union City, CA 94587 (US). RAZAVI, kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, Ameen(nmn); 501 1 Crystal Terrace, Fremount, CA GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, RW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, 94555 (US). UG, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, RU, TJ, TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, (74) Agent: BRUEHS, Martin, A.; Dentons US LLP, P.O. EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, ΓΓ, LT, LU, Box 061080, Wacker Drive Station, Willis Tower, Chica LV, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, go, IL 60606 (US). SM, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every GW, KM, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, Published: AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, — without international search report and to be republished DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, upon receipt of that report (Rule 48.2(g)) GT, HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KN, KP, KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, NOVEL BIOCATALYST COMPOSITIONS AND PROCESSES FOR USE Cross-reference to Related Applications [1] Priority is claimed to United States Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 61/689,921, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,922, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,923, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,924, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,925, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,929, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,930, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,932, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,933, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,935, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689.939, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,940, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689.943, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,945, filed on June 15, 2012; 61/689,953. filed on June 15, 2012; 61/849,725. filed on February 1, 2013; 61/850,631, filed on February 20, 2013; 61/851,467, filed on March 8 2013; and 61/852,451, filed on March 15, 2013, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A right is hereby reserved to have patentability determinations made on the basis of the applicable sections of Public Law 112-29. Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development [2] The use of biocatalysts for the continuous degradation of 1,4-dioxane in ultralow concentrations in water was first reduced to practice using Government support under Contract 1R43ES022123-01, awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The Government has certain rights thereto. Field of the Invention [3] This invention pertains to novel biocatalysts and their use. Background [4] Metabolic processes have long been proposed for anabolic and catabolic bioconversions. Microorganisms of various types have been proposed for these bioconversions and include bacteria and archaea, both of which are prokaryotes; fungi; and algae. Metabolic processes are used by nature, and some have been adapted to use by man for millennia for anabolic and catabolic bioconversions ranging from culturing yogurt and fermentation of sugars to produce alcohol to treatment of water to remove contaminants. Metabolic processes offer the potential for low energy consumption, high efficiency bioconversions in relatively inexpensive processing equipment and thus may be and are often viable alternatives to chemical synthesis and degradation methods. Often anabolic processes can use raw materials that are preferred from a renewable or environmental standpoint but are not desirable for chemical synthesis, e.g., the conversion of carbon dioxide to biofuels and other bioproducts. Catabolic bioconversions can degrade substrates and have long been used for waste water treatment. Considerable interests exist in improving metabolic processes for industrial use and expanding the variety of metabolic process alternatives to chemical syntheses and degradations. [5] Numerous types of process techniques have been proposed for anabolic and catabolic bioconversions. These processes include the use of suspended microorganisms, i.e., planktonic processes. Also, process techniques have been disclosed where the microorganisms are located on or within a solid support. [6] Workers are faced with various challenges in improving metabolic processes and in providing metabolic processes that are sufficiently economically viable to be of commercial interest. Some problems may be inherent with the feedstock itself including the presence of toxins, phages, and adventitious competitive microorganisms. Other problems may arise from the microorganism to be used for the bioconversion such as low metabolic conversion rate, low population growth rate, automutation, significant consumption of substrate to support population growth, the need for inducers, co- metabolites, promoters and performance enhancing additives, and the lack of a microorganism that has the sought metabolic conversion. And yet further problems may arise from the process used for the bioconversion such as costs in recovering bioproducts from an aqueous fermentation broth. Especially with supported microorganisms, problems can arise from instability of the biofilms, including their physical degradation; overgrowth of the population of microorganisms causing suffocation; sloughing off of the microorganisms from the support; and susceptibility to competitive microorganisms. Additionally, metabolic processes are characterized as generating solid debris from dead or lysed cells, and the debris needs to be accommodated in the process to remove these solids. In some instances, the debris have value as feed supplements such as distillers grains from the manufacturing of ethanol, but in other metabolic processes such as for the treatment of municipal waste water, costs may have to be incurred to dispose of the debris in an environmentally acceptable manner. Genetic engineering, which has been proposed to overcome one or more of these problems, can itself be problematic. [7] Microorganisms, including but not limited to, bacteria, archaea, fungi and algae, are capable of becoming attached or adhered to a surface. Studies have been conducted pertaining to the effect of a change from planktonic growth to growth of microorganisms on surfaces, including the formation of biofilms on surfaces. A number of workers have investigated preventing or degrading biofilms in an animal or human body to enhance the efficacy of antibiotic treatments to cure the animal or human body. [8] Tuson, et al., in "Bacteria-surface Interactions", Soft Matter, Vol. 1, issue 608 (2013) citable as DOI: 10.1039/c3sm27705d, provide a review of work in the field of bacterial- surface interactions. The authors describe the processes involved in attaching a microorganism to a surface and recite that attachment to surfaces causes phenotypic switches in the cells and that the surface can provide benefits to the attached cells.