Kennesaw State University Assistant Professor Mohammad Halim has received a three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study ways to improve the storage and preservation of peptide- and protein-based drugs, such as insulin and vaccines. These drugs rely on sugar-based liquid solvents for storage, but current methods can change the proteins over time, affecting their shelf life.
Halim’s research will focus on finding optimal mixtures of eutectic solvents that can store these drugs at subfreezing temperatures without binding to the proteins. This could help extend the useful life cycle of important therapeutics.
“My research tries to understand how eutectic solvents form between two components and how they can preserve all peptide- and protein-based drugs because we will see more of those kinds of treatments,” Halim said. “But we do not have a reliable preservation technique. I’m getting this funding to develop a new solvent that can keep the protein in native state and extend their shelf lives without side effects.”
The need for improved preservation is growing as more peptide-based drugs are developed. The market for protein-based therapeutics is projected to reach $679 million by 2033, while enzymes used to stabilize these proteins could make up an $8.2 billion industry by 2030.
“One of the drawbacks of existing preservation techniques with sugar bases (such as Trehalose) that we identified is that they alter the structure of protein via glycosylation,” Halim said. “These protein-based drugs contain larger and more intricate molecules and pose new challenges in terms preserving their integrity and stability over extended periods.”
The NIH grant will also support Halim’s ongoing work with students in his lab at Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU in 2021, he has mentored 105 undergraduates and 12 graduate students, leading to numerous student co-authored publications and presentations at conferences.
“Research and teaching aren’t just my job; they are my passion,” he said. “I work with my students in the research lab, and train them to be next-generation scientists. I consider myself a nucleus in the research lab, because if the nucleus stays, the electrons (students) revolve around the nucleus, which supports them. I teach and mentor with ‘pleasure-driven’ approach where any students irrespective of their background can enjoy, consume and understand the chemistry concepts and solve critical problems through research.”
Halim is collaborating on this project with assistant professors Carl Saint Louis, Madalynn Marshall, and Soon Goo Lee from KSU’s College of Science and Mathematics. The team will also collaborate externally using neutron scattering equipment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
