Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the industrial use of living organisms, or parts of organisms, to produce food, drugs and other products. Microorganisms are widely used in biotechnology because of their short life cycles, ease of handling and culture, ability to use materials that might otherwise be wasted, unusual metabolic pathways and the perceived reduction in the number of ethical issues associated with their use. The growth of a population of microorganisms in a closed culture generally follows a sigmoid curve. During the lag phase, the small initial population synthesises enzymes, appropriate to the conditions in which they have been placed, and begins to multiply. Population growth then follows in the log (exponential) phase, in which the rate of growth of the population is limited only by the reproductive capabilities of organisms. As nutrients run out, or as toxic waste products build, growth rate slows down and eventually stops. Many biotechnological processes involve growing microorganisms in large vessels called fermenters. The conditions inside the fermenter, especially temperature, pH, concentration of nutrients and oxygen supply, are carefully controlled to maximise the yield of the desired product. In batch culture, the microorganism and culture solution are placed inside the fermentation vessel and the fermentation is allowed to proceed without the addition of any new microorganisms or nutrients, or the removal of any product. This is especially useful when the required product is a secondary metabolite that is only produced at certain stages of population growth. It is used for the production of penicillin (in a modified form of batch culture where nutrients are added at intervals) and many enzymes. In continuous culture, a steady addition of nutrients is made to the culture throughout the fermentation, and the product is steadily collected. This is used for the production of mycoprotien. It is important to maintain asepsis in setting up and carrying out biotechnological processes with microorganisms, because unwanted microorganisms could metabolise the nutrient sources in a different way and produce unwanted products. Enzymes used in biotechnology are often immobilised by fixing them within or on the surface of a solid material. This enables enzymes to remain functional over a wider range of temperatures and pH, and it avoids the problem of having to remove enzyme from the product. It also allows the re-use of the same enzymes over and over again.