This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new class of commercial bio-pesticides synthesized from readily renewable materials at a lower cost and increased safety with avoidance of the environmental problems associated with petroleum based pesticides. The proposed innovation, science, and applications are multifactorial based on the identification and manipulations in sophorolipid structure that result in enhanced bio-pesticidal properties.
The broader/commercial impact of the project will be the development of effective and safer bio-pesticides, and a decrease in the use of chemical pesticides (currently exceeding 30 billion dollars a year). The project includes scientific development and innovations as well as providing broad educational programs for high school as well as graduate students.
