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In the technology-intensive areas of biotechnology, continuous innovation including modification of existing products and development of new products is essential and hence, a strong Research & Development (R&D) program is a must for any company’s success.  If you possess hands-on skills and experience with specific models and techniques, have a deep understanding of different technologies, are a quick learner who is willing to work under strict time schedules, then becoming an R&D scientist/manager could be the right career choice for you. As a research scientist/manager, you will be required to design/carry out experiments and do bench research as an important component of your projects. You will also be required to align projects undertaken by your team with the vision and strategy of your company and ensure judicious and appropriate utilization of resources . You will have to interact with the marketing team to understand consumer interests and...

When the product is synthesized intracellularly (inside the cell) or if the product has to be extracted from plant/animals/fungal tissues, it is necessary to disrupt the cell/tissue by force. Different parameters influence the degree of cell disruption which are the nature of the microorganism, operating pressure (for mechanical method), temperature, and the number of passes.  Cell disruption methods mainly classified into two types, which are; 1. Physical methods a) Heat shock or Thermolysis It is only used when the product is stable to heat shock and this is an economical method. It disrupts the cell walls of an inactive organism without affecting the bioproducts. b) Osmotic shock We know that every cell maintains a particular osmotic gradient. If the extracellular solute concentration is reduced drastically, then it will tend to burst the cells. osmotic shock mainly used to disrupt Red blood cells(RBC) How does osmotic shock is carried out? Osmotic shock to the cell is carried o...

Complex culture media In the early years, balanced salt solutions were supplemented with various nutrients (amino acids, vitamins, serum etc.) to push proliferation of cells in culture. Eagle was a pioneer in media formulation. He determined the nutrient requirements for mammalian cell cultures. There are quite a dozen media now available for  various varieties of cultures. Some of them are given below: EMEM—Eagle’s minimal essential medium DMEM—Dulbecco’s modification of Eagle’s medium CMEM—Glasgow’s modification of Eagle’s medium RPMI 1630 and RPMI 1640—Media from Rosewell Park Memorial Institute. The complete media, in general, contains an oversized number of components amino acids, vitamins, salts, glucose, other organic supplements, growth factors and hormones, and antibiotics, besides serum. Some important aspects of the media ingredients are briefly described. 1.   Amino acids: All the essential amino acids (which can't be synthesized by the cells) must to be added ...

Animal cell culture (ACC) is invitro maintenance and propagation of animal cells using a suitable nutrient media.   Culturing is a process of growing animal cells artificially.   The most important and essential step in ACC is selecting appropriate growth medium for invitro cultivation.   The selection of the medium depends on the type of cells to be cultured and also the purpose of the culture.   Purpose of ACC can be growth, differentiation or even production of desired products like pharmaceutical compounds. Types of ACC media: 1.    Natural media   In the early years, the natural media obtained from various biological sources were used. Body fluids: Plasma, serum, lymph, amniotic fluid, ascitic and pleural fluids, aqueous humour from eyes and insect hemolymph were in common use. These fluids were tested for sterility and toxicity before their utility. Tissue extracts: Among the tissue extracts, chick embryo extract was the most commonly employed. ...

Disorders which are caused by an inappropriately vigorous innate and/or adaptive response to antigens that pose little or no threat are called as hypersensitivities. The term allergy first appeared in the medical literature in 1906, when the pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet noted that the response to some antigens resulted in damage to the host, rather than in a protective response Hypersensitivities are classically divided into four categories which are given as type I–IV hypersensitivity reaction which differ by the immune molecules and cells that cause them, and the way they induce damage. Type I hypersensitivity reactions Also called as Allergy and atopy They are mediated by IgE antibodies that bind to mast cells or basophils and induce vasoactive mediator release. These reactions include the most common responses to respiratory allergens, such as pollen and dust mites, and to food allergens, such as peanuts and shellfish. Typical manifestations such as hay fever, asthma, hiv...

The term protoplast was introduced by Hanstein in 1880. It refers to the cellular content excluding cell wall or can also be called as naked plant cell. It is described as living matter enclosed by a plant cell membrane. Protoplast isolation for the first time was carried out by Klercker in 1892 using mechanical method on the plasmolysed cells. The application of protoplast technology for the improvement of plants to complement conventional breeding programs. The experiments involving protoplasts consist of three stages – Protoplast isolation Protoplast fusion (leading to gene uptake) Development of regenerated fertile plants from the fusion product (Hybrid). Depending upon the species and culture conditions, the protoplasts may have the potential to: Regenerate a cell wall Dedifferentiate to form callus Divide mitotically and proliferate clonally Redifferentiate into shoots, roots or embryos and produce a complete plantlet. Since leaf tissue is a readily accessible source of...