Publisher's Synopsis
The acknowledged increasing commercial and industrial potential for the growing range of products from the "new biotechnology", and the fact that much emphasis has been placed on the production processes for substances with biological activity is addressed in this book. Very little has hitherto been available on the important topic of downstream processing, covering the principles involved in recovering a product in a usable form.;The publication also describes many of the developing techniques for both new and established products, eg enzymes, antimicrobial agents and hormones; and offers a selection of methods for separation of a required product from its producing organism and extraneous impurities. After a broad overview of biotechnology and downstream processing, the book is divided into six distinct sections, four of which deal with separation procedures, presenting state-of-the-art reviews and emerging techniques: the two remaining sections cover analytical techniques and process control, as well as the often-overlooked but important subject of product containment and safety. This section discusses legislation aspects as well as methods for the detection of environmental contamination by the product or its producing organisms.
