Graduates in molecular biology, bioengineering, or many other fields can potentially take advantage of many exciting and lucrative careers opportunities in biotechnology development, manufacturing, commercial operations, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, business development, licensing, and investment fund management. To access such opportunities as quickly and successfully as possible, it is quite valuable to understand not only the basic principles of bioprocess engineering, but also have a more advanced background in a subspecialty or application area, such as fermentation, cell culture, and/or bioseparations. Furthermore, an advanced background in many areas, such as bioseparations, can be applied not only to a career in pharmaceutical biotechnology, but also many other areas of biotechnology, such as biofuels.
Bioprocess engineering, including bioseparations, is one the oldest and most successful professions. Success in large-scale recombinant protein manufacturing is a recent manifestation of a long and glorious history. Bioprocess engineering, including bioseparations, was and often still is a major skill set among those called brewer, winemaker, or in ancient times, wizard or sorcerer. The ability to successfully employ “the magic” of fermentation, as well as harvest and purify the vast range of resulting products through bioseparations, truly enriches ones life, no matter one’s profession.
The primary goal of this course is to provide students with an advanced background in bioseparations science and engineering.
ALS 431 and ALS 312
- An advanced understanding of the many unit operations employed in bioseparations, such as cell lysis, flocculation, sedimentation, centrifugation, depth filtration, tangential flow filtration, chromatography, precipitation, crystallization, extraction, and drying
- An understanding of the successful, interdisciplinary approach to bioprocessing and bioseparations, involving both biological sciences and engineering
- Knowledge of classic case studies and historical developments in bioseparations
- An understanding of a broad range of analytical methods and the ability to determine assay attributes
- The ability to utilize a process flow diagram and determine process economics
- An understanding of the various upstream and downstream processing options for monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments, the two categories of biopharmaceutical products undergoing the fastest growth