Verdezyne, Inc., a privately-held industrial biotechnology company focused on producing renewable chemicals, announced that it has produced more than one metric ton of bio-based dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) using its proprietary yeast platform and downstream process. The Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) and the Michigan State University (MSU) Bioeconomy Institute (BEI) worked with Verdezyne to run the bio-based DDDA process at the 4,000-liter scale. This production confirmed the scalability of Verdezyne’s process and produced polymer-grade material for potential customers and partners.

“Technology transfer to MSU (MBI/BEI) and scale-up of our process was seamless, and exceeded our expectations,” said José M. Laplaza, Ph.D., Verdezyne’s director of Metabolic Engineering and DDDA Program Manager. “This is a testament to the strong technology team we have assembled at Verdezyne, the expertise of the MSU (MBI/BEI) staff and the robustness of our proprietary process.”

Dodecanedioic acid is a dicarboxylic acid used to make nylon 6,12, molding resins, lubricants, adhesives, and powder coatings, as well as end products such as fishing line, toothbrush bristles and fuel lines. This industrial chemical is currently made from petroleum-based intermediates.