Biochemical Engineering

Abstract

Bioengineering can be defined as the application of the various branches of engineering, including mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering, to biological systems, including those related to medicine. Likewise, biochemical engineering refers to the application of chemical engineering to biological systems. This book is intended for use by undergraduates, and deals with the applications of chemical engineering to biological systems in general. In that respect, no preliminary knowledge of chemical engineering is assumed. In the first edition of Biochemical Engineering, published in 2009, we attempted to demonstrate how a typical chemical engineer would address and solve such problems in order to facilitate an understanding by newcomers to this field of study. In Part I of the book, we outlined some very elementary concepts of chemical engineering for those new to the field, and in Part II, “Unit operations and apparatus for bio-systems” were covered. Although in Part III we described applications of biochemical engineering to bioprocesses and to other areas, this part did not include a chapter for “Bioprocess control.” In bioindustry processes, the control of bioreactors is essential for the production of high-quality products under validated conditions. A fundamental understanding of process control should be very useful for all biochemical engineers, as well as for chemical engineers. Thus, we welcome a new coauthor, Prof. Jun-ichi Horiuchi, who is a leading researcher in the Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Chemistry, Kitami Institute of Technology. Currently, many biopharmaceuticals, which are proteins in many cases, are produced in many bioindustry fields, and the measuring of the concentrations and bioactivities of these products is thus becoming essential in bioindustry. We have added a new section for “Biorecognition assay” in Chapter 11, and we explain the fundamental aspects of biorecognition and its application for the measurement of bioproducts at low concentrations. In this edition, we have included some examples and some new problems to assist in the progress with learning how to solve problem. We would like to express great thanks to Prof. Michimasa Kishimoto and Prof. Yoichi Kumada for their useful discussion, particularly for Chapters 1