Bioprocess

What is a bioprocess?

A bioprocess is a process that uses cells, microorganisms, cellular components or enzymes to produce, transform or purify substances of interest. It combines biology, microbiology, biochemistry and engineering to control phenomena such as cell growth, nutrient consumption and product formation.

Bioprocesses are used to manufacture medicines, vaccines, recombinant proteins, enzymes, fermented foods, biofuels, chemicals and biomaterials. They can also support waste treatment and the biological removal of environmental contaminants.

How does a bioprocess work?

A bioprocess begins with the selection of an organism, cell line or enzyme suited to the intended product. In cell-based processes, the biological material is cultivated in a medium containing carbon and nitrogen sources, salts, vitamins and other essential nutrients.

During cultivation, equipment such as incubators, shakers, microbioreactors, fermenters and bioreactors is used to maintain and monitor process conditions. Commonly evaluated parameters include:

• temperature and shaking speed;
• pH and dissolved oxygen;
• biomass and cell growth;
• gas composition and flow rate;
• nutrient and metabolite concentrations;
• cultivation feeding strategy.

The collected data helps researchers compare conditions and adjust the process to improve productivity, yield and reproducibility. Depending on how nutrients are supplied, cultivation can be performed in batch, fed-batch or continuous mode.

Upstream and downstream bioprocessing

Bioprocess development is commonly divided into upstream and downstream stages. Upstream processing covers the activities performed before product recovery, including strain or cell-line selection, medium preparation, inoculum development, cultivation and fermentation.

Downstream processing comprises the operations required to recover, concentrate and purify the product. These operations may include centrifugation, filtration, cell disruption, precipitation, chromatography and drying. The appropriate sequence depends on where the product is located, its stability and the required purity.

Bioprocess applications in laboratories and industry

In research laboratories, bioprocesses are used to study microorganisms, screen cell lines, evaluate culture media, compare feeding strategies and develop scale-up methods. Microbioreactors can test dozens of conditions in parallel while consuming small quantities of media and biological material.

At industrial scale, bioprocessing is applied in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, chemical, agricultural, environmental and energy operations. Typical products include antibodies, antibiotics, organic acids, amino acids, industrial enzymes, probiotic cultures and microbial biomass.

What is the difference between a bioprocess and fermentation?

Fermentation is a biological operation used within many bioprocesses, but the terms are not completely interchangeable. A bioprocess may also include aerobic cultivation, enzymatic reactions, product recovery, purification and other operations beyond fermentation.

What equipment is used in a bioprocess?

The equipment depends on the application and scale. Common systems include incubators, shakers, microbioreactors, bioreactors, centrifuges, filtration units, gas analyzers, pH and dissolved oxygen sensors, and chromatography equipment.

How is a bioprocess transferred to a larger scale?

Bioprocess scale-up considers mixing, oxygen transfer, reactor geometry, power per volume, heat generation and feeding. Conditions developed at microscale or laboratory scale must be progressively validated before transfer to industrial production.