Genomatica Claims Process for 'Greening' Nylon

San Diego, CA, Oct. 19, 2010 -- Genomatica said it has received two U.S. patents that demonstrate how to "green" nylon, one of the most common materials in hundreds of consumer products, and how to gain further cost advantages when manufacturing sustainable chemicals and the materials made from them.

One patent describes how to produce a "green" version of key intermediate chemicals used to produce nylon. Genomatica's patent describes organisms that use renewable feedstocks, or raw ingredients, such as commercially-available sugars, instead of crude oil or natural gas.

Another patent describes how to engineer an organism to use syngas as a feedstock to make green, sustainably produced versions of major chemical products. This is significant because syngas is generally less expensive than other renewable feedstocks, and can be sourced from a wide variety of raw materials including biomass or municipal solid waste.

Genomatica has raised $40 million from Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and TPG Biotech.