Bacterium
A single-cell micro-organism lacking a nucleus (a prokaryote).
Bacteria are the most numerous living organisms on earth. Even though some are pathogens which cause diseases, bacteria are essential for the human body, which is home to hundreds of billions of them. Bacteria are also used in everyday life via fermentation processes, from the food industry (for the production of dairy products, bread and wine) to the chemicals industry.
Biochemistry
This is the study of the chemistry of molecules found in living organisms, their structures and their transformations during chemical reactions.
Bioinformatics
Computer programs developed for and applied to biology.
Bioprocess
A production process using micro-organisms.
Clostridium acetobutylicum
A harmless bacterium naturally present in the soil. It has been used since the 1920s in industrial fermentation to produce the solvent acetone.
DNA
The molecule that carries a living being's hereditary genetic information. In most organisms, the DNA is primarily contained with the cell nucleus. All an individual's cells contain the same DNA, which thus determines the individual's genetic identity. A gene is a piece of DNA.
Enzyme
A molecule capable of accelerating the speed of a metabolic reaction inside or outside a cell by up to several million times. Enzymes work at low concentrations and are not degraded by this reaction; they are biological catalysts.
Escherichia coli
Also called a colibacillus or E.coli. An intestinal bacterium in mammals and very common in humans. The genome of the non-pathogenic laboratory strain of E.coli was fully sequenced in 1997.
Fermentation
A biochemical reaction which consists in releasing energy from a carbohydrate (glucose, starch, etc.) under the action of microbial enzymes and then excreting the products. This reaction takes place in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) milieu. Fermentation was the first ever biochemical process to be mastered by humankind.
Fermenter
A container in which micro-organisms are grown. A fermenter allows culture conditions (temperature, pH, aeration, stirring, etc.) to be controlled, in order to optimize production yields. Fermenters are used for a variety of purposes, from the small-scale production of beer to the industrial production of chemicals.
Genetic engineering
A set of techniques for the identification, isolation, transfer and controlled modification of genetic material.
Glucose
The most common sugar in Nature. Industrially, glucose is produced from corn or potato starch.
Glycerol
An alcohol derived from plant oils. It is a transparent, viscous, colourless, odourless, non-toxic liquid with a sweet taste.
Metabolism
The set of chemical reactions which take place in a living organism, as well as the accompanying energy exchanges. It comprises reactions which synthesize and degrade molecules.
Molecular biology
Molecular biology stands at the interface between genetics, biochemistry and physics; it aims at understanding how cells work on the molecular level. The field was born of the discovery of DNA's atomic structure in 1953.
Process book
A guide which defines all the data, parameters and equipment needed to produce a chemical from renewable feedstocks on the industrial scale. It also specifies the investment and production costs for a unit with an annual production capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons.
Purification
A process for extracting the target chemical from the culture medium (the liquid environment in which bacterial fermentation takes place).
Purity
The state of a substance when it does not contain any detectable traces of another substance.
Starch
A natural substance which constitutes the food reserves (in the form of white granules) of many plants (notably cereals).
A single-cell micro-organism lacking a nucleus (a prokaryote).
Bacteria are the most numerous living organisms on earth. Even though some are pathogens which cause diseases, bacteria are essential for the human body, which is home to hundreds of billions of them. Bacteria are also used in everyday life via fermentation processes, from the food industry (for the production of dairy products, bread and wine) to the chemicals industry.
Biochemistry
This is the study of the chemistry of molecules found in living organisms, their structures and their transformations during chemical reactions.
Bioinformatics
Computer programs developed for and applied to biology.
Bioprocess
A production process using micro-organisms.
Clostridium acetobutylicum
A harmless bacterium naturally present in the soil. It has been used since the 1920s in industrial fermentation to produce the solvent acetone.
DNA
The molecule that carries a living being's hereditary genetic information. In most organisms, the DNA is primarily contained with the cell nucleus. All an individual's cells contain the same DNA, which thus determines the individual's genetic identity. A gene is a piece of DNA.
Enzyme
A molecule capable of accelerating the speed of a metabolic reaction inside or outside a cell by up to several million times. Enzymes work at low concentrations and are not degraded by this reaction; they are biological catalysts.
Escherichia coli
Also called a colibacillus or E.coli. An intestinal bacterium in mammals and very common in humans. The genome of the non-pathogenic laboratory strain of E.coli was fully sequenced in 1997.
Fermentation
A biochemical reaction which consists in releasing energy from a carbohydrate (glucose, starch, etc.) under the action of microbial enzymes and then excreting the products. This reaction takes place in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) milieu. Fermentation was the first ever biochemical process to be mastered by humankind.
Fermenter
A container in which micro-organisms are grown. A fermenter allows culture conditions (temperature, pH, aeration, stirring, etc.) to be controlled, in order to optimize production yields. Fermenters are used for a variety of purposes, from the small-scale production of beer to the industrial production of chemicals.
Genetic engineering
A set of techniques for the identification, isolation, transfer and controlled modification of genetic material.
Glucose
The most common sugar in Nature. Industrially, glucose is produced from corn or potato starch.
Glycerol
An alcohol derived from plant oils. It is a transparent, viscous, colourless, odourless, non-toxic liquid with a sweet taste.
Metabolism
The set of chemical reactions which take place in a living organism, as well as the accompanying energy exchanges. It comprises reactions which synthesize and degrade molecules.
Molecular biology
Molecular biology stands at the interface between genetics, biochemistry and physics; it aims at understanding how cells work on the molecular level. The field was born of the discovery of DNA's atomic structure in 1953.
Process book
A guide which defines all the data, parameters and equipment needed to produce a chemical from renewable feedstocks on the industrial scale. It also specifies the investment and production costs for a unit with an annual production capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons.
Purification
A process for extracting the target chemical from the culture medium (the liquid environment in which bacterial fermentation takes place).
Purity
The state of a substance when it does not contain any detectable traces of another substance.
Starch
A natural substance which constitutes the food reserves (in the form of white granules) of many plants (notably cereals).
. 07/15/2010
METabolic EXplorer: turnover for first-half 2010 >> more
. 07/15/2010
METabolic EXplorer announces validation of PDO production process book >> more