Biotechnology historical perspective

In this chapter, we will outline historical perspectives on the discovery and importance of CYPs in biotechnology before going on to describe the diversity of functions and activities associated with microbial CYPs. The coverage is relatively extensive and is illustrative of the field, but with so many CYPs now revealed it is impossible to discuss each one individually. Obviously many of the CYPs that remain orphan in function today will emerge as being important in future studies. 

King PP (1982) Biotechnology. An industrial view. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 32 2-8 Knothe G (2001) Historical perspectives on vegetable oil-based diesel fuels. Ind Oils 12 1103-1107 Koller M, Bona R, Braunegg G, Hermann C, Horvat P, Kroutil M, Martinz J, Neto J, Vaiila P, Pereira L (2005a) Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from agricultural waste and surplus materials. Biomacromolecules 6 561-565... 

In this chapter, we will define biotechnology from the perspective of pharmaceuticals and follow this with a historical overview of pharmaceutical biotechnology and a discussion of how macromolecules are named and used as therapeutic agents. 

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