The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. Breast milk is crucial for babies because it provides the perfect balance of nutrients essential for growth and development, offers immune protection through antibodies, and is easier to digest compared to formula. It supports healthy brain and nervous system development, fosters bonding between mother and baby, and reduces the risk of chronic conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Additionally, the composition of breast milk adapts to meet the baby's changing needs and offers long-term health benefits such as lowering the risk of asthma, allergies, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), yet parents face many barriers to breastfeeding like managing work, pumping and inadequacies with long-term storage issues that cause the milk to break down and lose essential nutrients.
Xheme Inc., a leading materials science company in Newton, MA, is changing that by developing eco-friendly technologies that combat oxidative stress in various biological systems like breastmilk. In partnership with Dr. Shannon Kelleher, Professor of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Xheme is pioneering a non-toxic film technology to preserve the quality of stored human milk.
Human milk contains nutrients vital for infant survival and is a living ecosystem containing live bacteria and immune cells and a wide variety of bioactive enzymes, lipids, and other molecules that provide critical health benefits during infancy. However, cell death and oxidative damage to these non-nutritive factors reduce its nutritional quality and limit the time human milk can be stored in the refrigerator. As noted by a leading International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), "Reducing rancidity that some mothers find when their milk is stored is a big issue in the lactation field as the baby often rejects the rancid smelling and tasting milk and the mothers lament having to throw it out." Eliminating oxidative damage and cell death could improve stored human milk's nutritional quality, providing essential health benefits, particularly during illness or in infants born preterm, and extend the shelf-life, supporting working parents and mothers who feed pumped milk exclusively.
Innovation in Human Milk Storage
Current milk storage bags simply contain the milk, doing nothing to prevent oxidative damage. Xheme's innovative milk storage bags actively protect the delicate components of human milk, ensuring it retains its health benefits longer. "For mothers, creating breast milk is a demanding task, and throwing it away is devastating. This revolutionary technology not only extends the shelf life of breast milk but also significantly reduces the need for its disposal. This is an absolute game changer to bolster precious 'liquid gold,'" says Jenny Lynn Walding, CLC and Founder/CEO of milkmade.
Promising Lab Results
Xheme has developed a variety of polymeric composite films that work to reduce oxidative stress. These films reduce lipid oxidation in human breast milk during storage. The UML team conducted proof-of-concept tests on freshly collected milk and found that Xheme's specially developed breast milk storage films reduce lipid oxidation by 25% and increase enzymatic activity and immune cell viability by approximately 20% and 30%, respectively. These benefits were observed after eight days of storage at 4℃, effectively doubling milk storage time.
Kelleher says, "Lab-scale results show the potential for XMA-milk storage bags to reduce rancidity and extend the shelf-life of stored human milk so that breast milk doesn't have to be thrown away because it smells or tastes bad. However, additional research and development is needed to optimize key parameters, ensuring that freshly pumped milk in XMA-milk storage bags maintains the activity of live cells and key non-nutritive factors and improves the nutritional quality of stored human milk." The proof of concept results will be presented in the 5th International Symposium on Lipid Oxidation and Antioxidants (5th ISLOA) on July 8–10, 2024, in Bologna, Italy. The potential implication of Xheme Technologies for the enhanced shelf life of vital fluids
Xheme's technology works in two ways: The Xheme films absorb oxygenated radicals generated during storage and convert peroxides into oxygen and water, thus reducing oxidative damage and improving cell viability. The redox activity appears to work continuously but may be species-dependent, differentially affecting biologically active molecules. According to Dr. Kumar Challa, CSO, this technology is being scaled up and tested for several applications, including non-toxic bags for storing blood and single-use reactor bags for biomanufacturing. Xheme is also focused on ensuring that these next-generation storage bags for vital fluids are sustainable and free from any environmental concerns.
The Xheme Team
The Xheme team, led by Dr. SSR Kumar Challa, includes experts in nanotechnology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, business law, and finance. The core team features Venugopal Nambula, MBA, with extensive business and finance experience. Recent additions to the leadership team include Dr. Julia Rashba-Step, a senior pharmaceutical professional focused on bioprocessing and strategic partnerships, and Dr. Max Narovlyansky, an expert in medical devices and product development. Together, they aim to develop non-toxic, sustainable technologies that will safely modernize the bioprocessing, plastics, and coatings industries.
Dr. Challa has made it clear that Xheme's products and technologies are still in the development phase, with more work to be done: "While Xheme's technologies have the potential to be a disrupter in the milk-storage space, more research and development work and regulatory approvals are needed before commercialization."
For more information, visit xhemeinc.com and sites.uml.edu/shannon-kelleher/.
