What Is Bioprocessing? Stages, Methods & Future Opportunities
The bioprocess can be explained as a particular process that utilizes complete living cells or some of their cellular components to get wanted items. The process is used in the creation of nourishments, pharmaceuticals, flavors, energy, and synthetic concoctions with the guidance of a biocatalyst. A catalyst in bioprocessing can be microorganisms, plants, or creature cells in a bioreactor.
Alongside, it includes hereditary designing for the control of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Downstream handling is required to expel debasements, mass volume decrease, and concurrent convergence of the ideal item from the bioreactor.
Protein recuperation is touchy to working conditions because their capacity relies upon the honesty of the sensitive 3D tertiary structure.
What is Bioprocessing?
Any process that uses complete living cells or their components (e.g., bacteria, enzymes, chloroplasts) to obtain desired products is referred to as bioprocessing.
Bioprocessing is also essential to the production of renewable biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel, therapeutic stem cells, gene therapy vectors, and new vaccines, among other emerging industries and technologies.
Bioprocessing includes two important processes - Upstream and downstream processes.
Cell Treatment Bioprocessing
Cell treatment bioprocessing is an order that combines the fields of cell treatment and bioprocessing. Cell treatment bioprocessing aims to build up reproducible and sturdy manufacturing procedures to produce remedial cells. Commercially significant bioprocesses can:
Generate items to keep up the entirety of the quality gauges of biopharmaceutical drugs
It can also offer clinical and industrial measures of remedial cells all through different phases of improvement.
Control the expense of merchandise (CoGs) of the last medication item.
Upstream Bioprocessing
The process of converting raw materials into a form that can be used in a biologic manufacturing process is known as upstream bioprocessing.
Harvesting and purifying natural products, culturing cells, and producing recombinant proteins are all examples of this.
Upstream bioprocessing's goal is to create a high-quality starting material for downstream bioprocessing.
Downstream Bioprocessing
The term "downstream bioprocessing" refers to the steps that take place after the initial bioprocessing steps, which involve the production of a biological agent.
There are three main steps involved in downstream processing- Purification, Formulation, and Storage of the agent.
The downstream process involves the following steps-
a. Elimination of Insolubles - By soaking a sample of the material in a solvent, insoluble impurities are removed. Insoluble impurities will sink to the bottom of the solvent, while the rest of the material will dissolve. After that, the solvent can be poured off, leaving behind the insoluble impurities.
b. Isolation of Product - Product isolation is a chemical engineering technique for isolating a product from a mixture. The product is extracted using a solvent after the mixture is placed in a container. The product is then isolated after the solvent has been removed.
c. Product Purification - The removal of impurities from a product is known as purification. Distillation, chromatography, and crystallization are some of the methods that can be used to accomplish this. Purification aims to create a product that is free of contaminants and pure.
d. Polishing of Product - The product will be polished after it has been cut to remove any scratches or blemishes that occurred during the cutting process.
P&I Diagrams and Process Flow Diagrams (PFD)
In bioprocessing, equipment is expressed from the design phase through the life cycle with the help of several types of flow diagrams. This involves different levels of detailing right from the stages of conception to construction, engineering, usage in production, etc.
Simplified process flow diagrams are used in the early conceptual phase of a new process wherein they do not possess all details that final versions have. PFD documents at this phase only render a point of discussion until the design is well detailed.
Process and instrumentation diagrams (P &I diagrams) entail more important detail compared with PFD. Therefore, they are primary documents in the documentation serving as support for the functioning and maintenance throughout the working span of a specific equipment piece.
Similarities Between Upstream and Downstream Bioprocessing
The two main parts of a bioprocess are upstream and downstream bioprocessing.
Both processes involve living organisms, particularly microorganisms.
These processes are carried out on bioproducts that are both industrially and medicinally important.
When it comes to making bioproducts, both processes are crucial.
During both processes, contamination should be avoided.
Difference Between Upstream and Downstream Bioprocessing
Product development happens in the upstream bioprocessing stage, while product harvesting happens in the downstream bioprocessing stage. As a result, the key distinction between upstream and downstream bioprocessing is this.
Furthermore, upstream bioprocessing includes steps such as microorganism isolation and selection, inoculum development, media preparation, inoculation, and incubation. The major steps of downstream bioprocessing, on the other hand, are extraction, purification, quality control, and product packaging.
Important Points to Remember
Upstream and downstream bioprocessing are the two main stages of a bioprocess or fermentation.
Microbes are screened, cultured, and grown inside a bioreactor in upstream bioprocessing, which provides the necessary nutrients and growth conditions. When the fermentation is finished at the end of the inoculation period, downstream bioprocessing begins. Extraction, purification, and proper packaging of the product are all done in downstream bioprocessing.
Important Questions
1. What is the Second Step of Downstream Processing?
Product isolation
Purification of product
Removal of insoluble
Polishing of product
Ans: Option A is correct.
Product isolation is the second step of downstream processing. It is a chemical engineering technique for isolating a product from a mixture. The product is extracted using a solvent after the mixture is placed in a container. The product is then isolated after the solvent has been removed.
2. Downstream process is also known as
Product packaging
Product purification
Product recovery
Product extraction
Ans: Product recovery is another term for downstream bioprocessing. Bioprocesses produce amino acids, antibiotics, organic acids, vitamins, and vaccines, among other bioproducts. The bioproduct's desired quality is achieved during the downstream process.
FAQs on Bioprocessing: Key Processes and Real-Life Applications
1. What exactly is bioprocessing in simple terms?
Bioprocessing is the use of living cells (like bacteria, yeast, or animal cells) or their components (like enzymes) to produce useful products. Think of it as using tiny biological factories to make things we need, from medicines to food.
2. What are the main stages of a typical bioprocess?
A bioprocess is generally divided into two major stages:
- Upstream Processing: This includes all the preparation steps, such as preparing the nutrient medium, sterilising the equipment, and growing the initial culture of microorganisms.
- Downstream Processing: This involves all the steps after the main reaction, such as separating the product from the cell culture, purifying it to a high standard, and preparing it for use.
3. What is a bioreactor and what is its role in bioprocessing?
A bioreactor is a specialised container where the main biological reaction happens. Its role is to provide a perfectly controlled environment for the living cells to grow and produce the target product. It carefully manages factors like temperature, pH, oxygen levels, and stirring to maximise the yield.
4. Can you give some examples of bioprocessing in the real world?
Yes, bioprocessing is all around us! Common examples include:
- The production of antibiotics like penicillin.
- Making vaccines to protect against diseases.
- The fermentation process used to make bread, cheese, yoghurt, and beer.
- Manufacturing human insulin for treating diabetes.
5. Why is keeping everything sterile so important in bioprocessing?
Sterilisation is crucial to prevent contamination. If unwanted bacteria or fungi get into the bioreactor, they can compete with the desired cells for nutrients, produce harmful byproducts, or spoil the final product. Maintaining a sterile environment ensures a pure and effective final product.
6. How does bioprocessing help in making medicines?
In the pharmaceutical industry, bioprocessing is essential for producing complex biological drugs that are difficult to make with simple chemistry. It's used to manufacture therapeutic proteins, hormones, monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment, and many modern vaccines. It allows for large-scale, consistent production of these life-saving medicines.
7. Is bioprocessing only used for making medicines?
Not at all! While medicine is a major field, bioprocessing has many other important applications. It's used in the food industry (for enzymes and fermented foods), in agriculture (to create biofertilisers and biopesticides), and for environmental purposes (like wastewater treatment and producing biofuels).
