title: Downstream processing in marine biotechnology.
abstract: Downstream processing is one of the most underestimated steps in bioprocesses and this is not only the case in marine biotechnology. However, it is well known, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, that downstreaming is the most expensive and unfortunately the most ineffective part of a bioprocess. Thus, one might assume that new developments are widely described in the literature. Unfortunately this is not the case. Only a few working groups focus on new and more effective procedures to separate products from marine organisms. A major characteristic of marine biotechnology is the wide variety of products. Due to this variety a broad spectrum of separation techniques must be applied. In this chapter we will give an overview of existing general techniques for downstream processing which are suitable for marine bioprocesses, with some examples focussing on special products such as proteins (enzymes), polysaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids and other low molecular weight products. The application of a new membrane adsorber is described as well as the use of solvent extraction in marine biotechnology.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Technical Chemistry, University of Hannover, Callinstr. 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany. ulber@mv.uni-kl.de
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muffler
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ulber
mesh_terms: D017756:Aquaculture / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development*; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development*; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells / Q000502:physiology; D014871:Water Microbiology