Pharmaceutical Products by Fermentation

Poly(malic acid) is of pharmaceutical interest because its chemical derivatives may harbor both tissue-specific homing molecules and therapeutic effectors to be used for tissue (tumor) targeting in chemotherapy [2]. Because of its efficient production by fermentation, its biodegradability and nontoxicity, it is also considered as raw material in the industrial production of detergents, glues, and plastic materials. 

Besides the metabolic system of living and growing eukaryotes, the use of prokaryotes in industrial production of pharmaceutical precursors by fermentation is a common strategy [9,10]. Here, the cmcial steps are the inocula preparation to reach reproducible yields and the... 

Pharmaceutical. Ion-exchange resins are useful in both the production of pharmaceuticals (qv) and the oral adrninistration of medicine (32). Antibiotics (qv), such as streptomycin [57-92-17, neomycin [1404-04-2] (33), and cephalosporin C [61-24-5] (34), which are produced by fermentation, are recovered, concentrated, and purified by adsorption on ion-exchange resins, or polymeric adsorbents. Impurities are removed from other types of pharmaceutical products in a similar manner. Resins serve as catalysts in the manufacture of intermediate chemicals. 

Uses of lactose production by appHcation include baby and infant formulations (30%), human food (30%), pharmaceuticals (25%), and fermentation and animal feed (15%) (39). It is used as a diluent in tablets and capsules to correct the balance between carbohydrate and proteins in cow-milk-based breast milk replacers, and to increase osmotic property or viscosity without adding excessive sweetness. It has also been used as a carrier for flavorings. 

For the industrial production of riboflavin as pharmaceuticals, the traditional methodology comprising the dkect condensation of (13) with (14) in an acidic medium with continuous optimisation of the reaction conditions is stiU used (28). A great part of riboflavin manufactured by fermentative methods is used for feeds in the form of concentrates. The present world demand of riboflavin may be about 2500 t per year. Of this amount, 60%, 25%, and 15% are used for feeds, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs, respectively. The main producers are Hoffmann-La Roche, BASF, Merck Co., and others. 

Pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals account for 6% of the Hquid-phase activated carbon consumption (74). Many antibiotics, vitarnins, and steroids are isolated from fermentation broths by adsorption onto carbon foUowed by solvent extraction and distillation (82). Other uses in pharmaceutical production include process water purification and removal of impurities from intravenous solutions prior to packaging (83). 

Demain, A.L. and Adrio, J.L. (2008) Strain improvement for production of pharmaceuticals and other microbial metabolites by fermentation. Progress in Drug Research, 65, 251, 253-289. 

In addition to chemical-based drugs, a range of pharmaceutical substances (e.g. hormones and blood products) are produced by/extracted from biological sources. Such products, some major examples of which are listed in Table 1.2, may thus be described as products of biotechnology. In some instances, categorizing pharmaceuticals as products of biotechnology or chemical synthesis becomes somewhat artificial. For example, certain semi-synthetic antibiotics are produced by chemical modification of natural antibiotics produced by fermentation technology. 

Hydrolysis of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons. The production of oxygenated aliphatics by the hydrolysis of chlorinated hydrocarbons includes the synthetic glycerol process and the amyl alcohols process. Glycerol (7) is made from propylene via allyl chloride (CH2 CHCH2C1), and competes with glycerol made from fats and oils for use in dynamite and alkyd resins, as a tobacco humectant and cellophane plasticizer, in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and for other applications. Amyl alcohols have been made since 1926 by the alkali hydrolysis of a mixture of amyl chlorides, made by the chlorination of pentanes from natural gasoline. Production from this source far exceeds the supply from the fusel oil by-product of fermentation processes. Amyl alcohol and its derivatives are used mainly as solvents. 

The production of ethyl alcohol for beverage, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products is commonly accomplished by the natural process of fermentation. See Ethyl Alcohol Methyl Alcohol and Fermentation, Beer, wine, and whiskey production are extensively covered in the Foods and... 

Chiral alcohols are valuable products mainly as building blocks for pharmaceuticals or agro chemicals or as part of chiral catalysts. Cheap biotransformation methods for the selective reduction of particular ketone compounds are known for many years rather catalyzed by fermentation than with isolated enzymes. Products prepared with whole cells such as baker s yeast often lack high enantioselectivity and there were several attemps to use isolated enzymes. Resolution of racemates with hydrolases are known in some cases but very often the reduction of the prochiral ketone using alcohol dehydrogenases are much more attractive. 

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