# A Liposomal Enzyme System for Removal of Ethanol from the Blood

> **NIH NIH R43** · SYNLIFE INC · 2021 · $295,962

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Over 2,200 Americans die annually of acute alcohol poisoning, and an additional tens of
thousands die due to the direct results of binge drinking. Billions are spent annually treating
alcohol poisoning cases. However, no FDA-approved pharmacological treatment for alcohol
poisoning exists, nor are any means of blocking alcohol’s effects known. The long-term goal of
this work is to develop a pharmaceutical that rapidly clears ethanol from the blood and functions
as a therapeutic for alcohol poisoning and as a harm reduction tool following binge drinking. The
goal of this project is to validate a lead pharmaceutical formulation comprising three enzymes
encapsulated in liposomes for the ability to rapidly eliminate ethanol in vivo. The central
hypothesis is that a high rate of ethanol degradation can be maintained in vivo by intravenous
administration of this formulation, thereby ameliorating alcohol poisoning. The rationale
underlying this proposal is that encapsulated enzyme systems are more active than free enzymes
in blood serum. Encapsulation of the enzymes in liposomes physically separates them from serum
proteases, the immune system, and off-target ligands. It also co-localizes the enzymes within the
liposome, greatly improving enzyme pathway kinetics. The innovations that will enable this work
are recently gained insights into enzyme biochemistry and co-localization as well as
methodologies that gently encapsulate protein at high yields. Specific aims of this project are:
Aim 1: Demonstrate that the encapsulated enzyme system eliminates ethanol in vivo.
Aim 2: Use screening and directed evolution techniques to discover improved enzymes.
Aim 3: Prototype a microfluidic system for high-efficiency protein encapsulation.
The expected outcome of this project is a scalable liposomal formulation that can rapidly
eliminate alcohol from the blood. The data from this work will also support raising of private capital
for IND-enabling preclinical studies. The positive impact of the alcohol elimination treatment is
twofold: First and foremost, it would make available an efficacious first-line treatment for acute
alcohol poisoning. Secondly, the availability of such a treatment at ERs, urgent care centers, and
mobile units would enable harm reduction strategies targeting binge drinking. The system
described here will also serve as a prototype for a wider range of enzymes that target other drugs
(e.g. fentanyl) or high concentrations of endogenous metabolites (e.g. phenylalanine).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10139179
- **Project number:** 1R43AA028974-01
- **Recipient organization:** SYNLIFE INC
- **Principal Investigator:** Mikhail Koksharov
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $295,962
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10139179

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10139179, A Liposomal Enzyme System for Removal of Ethanol from the Blood (1R43AA028974-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10139179. Licensed CC0.

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