Bioprocessing: 03-Oct-16

The third blog in my attempt to finish this module and get out alive. That is all I want to do as I write this; get out of college alive.

I had been under the delusion that the intention of our blogs was to reflect on what we had actually learned in each class, to revise if you will, what we had learned. This I could see as a useful and proactive lesson in reinforcing what we had learned. Never have I been so wrong.

What we are in fact intended to do is "critical reflection". Your guess is as good as mine. It was then explained what critical reflection is; it is not descriptive reflection of what we had learned, oh no. It was a reflection on how we "felt" about what we learned. How did we feel we learned it. What was the impact socially, politically and culturally about what we had learned. 

I do not have the vocabulary to describe how infuriating it is to choose to study a science degree to remove myself from this wishy-washy bullshit that academics insist on forcing upon us. I am reminded of my leaving certificate English mock exams. I was questioned about how I felt about the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Honestly? I think Emily Dickinson was a rambling lunatic. She was a recluse who locked herself in her bedroom for 30 years and rambled on for page after page about whatever nonsense happened to be passing through her thoughts at any given time. I knew if I was to divulge my true feelings however, I would receive little or no marks. But instead of bending to their will and regurgitating the predetermined answers everyone else had insisted on giving, I left. I didn't write a thing. Why? Because I didn't want to waste my time with a pointless exercise which would provide me with absolutely no benefit what-so-ever.

And here we are. What goes around does in fact come back around. My final year of my final level of education before I am to begin my long a slow descent into retirement. We are back at the wishy-washy bullshit that academics insist on forcing upon us. It is this exact kind of exercise that drove me into psychiatric hospital. Twice. There are absolutely NO social or political implications from this third class of bioprocessing. Not one. Instead what we learned was the basic components of a bioreactor, The same as we did the week before. I am struggling to find things to reflect on from the class because I am struggling to remember if I actually learned anything new from the class. All I remember is my blood pressure rising at such a rapid rate that it managed to keep my blood under enough pressure to stop it from actually boiling. Thank Lord Kelvin for that.

So what am I to reflect on then? I am currently thinking where is the rational in assigning a blog to be submitted for every single class, but then only correcting the best 3 of aforementioned blogs for our grades. And if our blogs are to be an honest opinion and reflection on our thoughts from the class, then they are entirely subjective are they not? Who is a lecturer to tell me that my thoughts are wrong? To tell me that I'm not thinking properly? If they are in fact intended  to be an honest, bare bones, warts-and-all reflection of what we thought of the class, well then here it is. And surely that should entitle me to maximum marks, correct? Much like my leaving cert English mock exam, I highly doubt it.

Bioprocessing: 26-Sep-16

Our second class entailed a more detailed understanding of the stages of bioprocessing development; from small scale through to large scale production, mainly focusing on upstream production.

Source: http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/125817436.png

We discussed the pros and cons between choosing eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, revising the differences between the two as we did. The main differences being; prokaryotic cells have No membrane‐bounded nucleus, They are a relatively Simple structure and small in size (<1 μm), compared to eukaryotic cells which have a membrane‐bounded nucleus and are complex structure & larger in size (10 ‐100 μm). Prokaryotic cells are easy to produce and replicate quickly, doubling approximately every 20 mins. They thus require simple media constituents and are also easy to process. Eukaryotic cells on the other hand have a reproduction rate of approximately 24 hrs, requiring complex media constituents. They are More difficult to process also, being more sensitive to pH and Temp. differences, and More fragile as they do not have a cell wall.

Because of this we will choose a prokaryotic cell for our bio-processing project. Currently prokaryotic cells are already in use, so there is a well established method of production. Deviating from this method would incur massive costs when in practice, we could improve upon the existing method and hopefully produce a superior quality product.

Source: http://www.cropenergies.com/en/Bioethanol/Produktionsverfahren/

We also discussed methods of production, separation and purification. Coming into this course my end goal was to complete a PhD in pharmacology as I would love to do early stage drug discovery. This class confirmed my ambitions as early stage bio-processing and drug development would require a PhD. Having identified our host cell, we will now need to consider small scale culturing. The parameters we will need to measure and control are pH, temperature, nutrient media, atmospheric conditions and time.

Bioprocessing Module: Monday 19-Sep-16

Monday 19-Sep-2016 

Bioprocessing Module

30 seconds card game. copyright of Calco Games.

Previously, I had imagined Bioprocessing would involve the methodology behind large scale bio manufacturing, as opposed to lab based methodology we have learned in biotechnology. Our biotechnology module entailed the basic methods of rDNA splicing with restriction enzymes and the theory behind vector plasmids and exon shuffling.

Thus far I have only learned the definition of Bioprocessing. It is; "the application of natural or genetically manipulated whole cells/tissues/organs, or parts thereof, for the production of industrially or medicinally importanty products."

Over the first semester of our 4th year I have decided to choose Bioprocessing as an optional module. With the strong demand for bioprocessing knowledge in the Irish pharmaceutical market I feel it would add greatly to the knowledge I have already gained throughout my degree. 

Vials of bio manufactured products being prepare for lyophilization.
Copyright Albany Molecular Research Inc.

During my work placement I was also exposed to some techniques of bioprocessing, although I was unaware of it at the time. The company I was employed with for work placement, Helsinn-Birex Pharmaceuticals, employs a method called lyophilization for preparing one of their products. Lyophilization is a method of freeze drying materials by exposing them to a vacuum. The product is first frozen and then when exposed to a vacuum, it allows the frozen water molecules to sublimate directly to a gaseous state. This is a common method of preservation in the biomanufacturing industry. Helsinn-Birex currently has a CMO (contract manufacturing organisation) lyophilize their products as it is an expensive process to set up an validate. Knowledge from this module would be useful should they decide to establish a lyophilization process on their site.

I look forward to learning about more complex bioprocesses and how they are applied in the pharmaceutical industry. It seems like knowledge gained in this module will be invaluable in the future of our careers, should they be in the pharmaceutical industry.