South Dakota Mines and Dakota BioWorx have started a new project in South Dakota to turn corn leftovers (called corn stover) into valuable materials. These materials could eventually be used in advanced medical treatments.
The partnership combines the research team at Mines, led by Professor Rajesh Sani, with Dakota BioWorx’s new facility in Brookings. Together, they are creating one of the first plants in the U.S. to make these biomaterials using a special process that works with heat-loving microbes. This project could help make South Dakota a key place for sustainable manufacturing.
Corn stover is often wasted, but this project is turning it into bio-based materials that could be used in medicine, like for soft-tissue replacements or drug delivery systems. Production has already started at Dakota BioWorx’s pilot plant, and the team plans to expand to larger production soon. This project helps bring university research into real-world manufacturing.
The partnership also offers learning opportunities for Mines students, teaching them important skills for the growing biotech industry in the area. It’s good for South Dakota’s economy too, since it uses local crops and keeps production in the state.
The final materials produced will be soft biomaterials called nanogels, which could have many uses in medicine. Future research will test these materials to see how they work in medical environments.
Executive Statement
According to Craig Arnold, CEO of Dakota BioWorx, this work represents exactly the kind of value-added biomanufacturing South Dakota is ready for, taking something abundant in their rural economy and turning it into something with national and global demand.
