Nudix-overexpressing plants for soil and water
This technology involves engineering plants to overexpress a family of enzymes called NUDIX hydrolases, which break down certain toxic or unwanted chemical compounds within plant cells. By boosting the natural activity of these enzymes, the plants can absorb and detoxify specific contaminants more effectively than unmodified plants. The primary described use is phytoremediation — using living plants to clean up polluted soil or water. Essentially, these are genetically modified plants designed to act as biological cleanup tools for contaminated environments.
What you could build
A licensed seed or plant variety tailored for deployment at industrial brownfields, mining sites, or agricultural land with specific contamination profiles; buyers would be environmental remediation contractors, government land-management agencies, or industrial companies with cleanup liabilities.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia has significant DoD and industrial sites with legacy contamination (e.g., Superfund sites, former manufacturing), making state environmental agencies, remediation contractors, and Virginia cooperative extension programs plausible early stakeholders.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Catherine Freed, Glenda Gillaspy
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed July 19, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250154477A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.