Meet the Johnson City start-up centered around chitosan
Chitosan is a sugar that comes from the outer skeleton of shellfish, including crab, lobster, and shrimp. It's currently used as medicine and in drug manufacturing, but Middaugh's research shows it has other benefits.
Here’s a brain puzzle – what do careers in cheese-making, paint coatings, and chitosan deployment have in common?
While you ponder that question, we want to introduce you to David Middaugh, who is a chemist by nature and has held jobs in each of those industries. He says the thing that connects them is a love for identifying unlikely combinations.
“I began my studies in chemistry and engineering but realized I liked chemistry a lot more than math. So, I dropped engineering and began focusing exclusively on chemistry,” Middaugh said. “Chemistry led me into cheese-making.”
He worked as a research and development specialist at La Quesera Mexicana by testing new recipes and combinations. It’s an industry that has been around for more than four thousand years, so Middaugh said many combinations have already been tested. Also, certain laws restrict which chemical makeup can even be considered “cheese.”
“It’s complicated, I learned,” he laughed. “But, I also learned some invaluable things… like how ionic crosslinking binds all cheeses.”
Ionic crosslinking is when a hydrogel network is formed by molecules containing opposite charges linked through non-covalent bonds.
Middaugh said this understanding is what led him to work for Sherwin-Williams in the coating development department.
“I was working to find a biodegradable coating solution for Sherwin-Williams. There are all water-soluble polymers that you can crosslink in a manner like cheese, where they would be biodegradable with all natural materials,” Middaugh explained.
He sifted through many different materials to find solutions, but none caught his attention quite like Chitosan. His research and application of Chitosan in coatings won him an innovation competition in the industry. However, the more he learned about the substance, the more he realized its potential beyond paint.
You’re probably wondering – what is Chitosan? That was also our question.
Chitosan is a natural biopolymer derived from the exoskeletons of crustaceans like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, as well as in the cell walls of fungi. The “chitin” undergoes a deacetylation process to produce chitosan, making it a versatile and functional material.
Right now, Chitosan is commonly used in the medical and pharmaceutical industries – namely in wound dressings and drug delivery systems. It is also used in water treatment, and cosmetics, and has been newly introduced to the agricultural industry as an alternative to pesticides and preservatives.
“I left Sherwin-Williams and started researching what chitosan can do,” Middaugh said. “If you put it into the right hands, it can do almost anything… which I know is a hyperbolic statement, but it can create contact lenses, plant feed, preservatives, you name it.”
Middaugh is most specifically interested in the substance’s agricultural application, and how it could be applied to the “root of the problem.”
Middaugh is currently studying how chitosan can be useful in promising farmers higher yields, while also reducing the amount of pesticide. He is fascinated by what he’s learning and is eager to put it to work in a proper lab space.
Earlier this year, he launched a company called “Fresh Guard.” It debuted at FoundersForge’s “The Pitch” competition in Johnson City and was met with a high interest. Middaugh said although it was out of his comfort zone, “The Pitch” was necessary to grow and benefit the company.
“No one succeeds by themselves, and I’m a one-man team right now. I’m a chemist and not the best businessman, so I’m looking for some people to help me get this moving,” Middaugh said.
While the substance is still a new commodity, his goal is to wholesale import Chitosan and establish a distribution center for farmers. He plans to provide products to people that cater to a specific need.
“I’m trying to sell a benefit to farmers. I want farmers to be more profitable in our local area, not just in Johnson City, but all of Appalachia,” Middaugh said.
Just like his love for chemistry, and unlikely combinations, Middaugh is hopeful that farmers on land will see the benefit of a substance derived from sea creatures. After all, Middaugh believes Chitosan could be the key to unlocking more crop yield, more profit, and fewer pesticides.
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