Biotechnology

• What are the methods of immobilising proteins?

  absorption - sticking to a inert surface using ionic or covalent bonds

  Entrapment: using a matrix to trap or encasing the proteins in beads

  Membrane separation using a membrane where the reactants diffuse to the enzymes and the products diffuse back
• Advantages of immobilised proteins:

  Reduces downstream processes by not having to extract the enzymes later and reduces costs

  Recovering the enzymes to use again reduces costs

  temperature tolerance is increased which allows processes to go at high temperatures resulting in a greater yield
• Disadvantages of immobilised proteins:

  Expensive to immobilise

  Enzymes may detach

  the process may change the shape of the active site rendering it useless
• Uses of microorganisms in biotechnical processes:

  Making food - yeast for bread and ethanol

  Making medicine

  Bioremediation - breaking down waste products into useful products
• What are the advantages(4) and disadvantages(3) of using microorganisms to make food:

  advantages:

  Bacteria reproduce quickly

  Bacteria grow in low temperatures

  produce higher protein and low cholesterol food

  microorganisms can be grown on waste material which reduces costs

  Disadvantages:

  Contamination causes food to spoil and health risks

  People may not want to eat food made from waste products

  food produced has little flavour which require additional chemicals to add flavour
• What are A and B

  A) Lag Phase

  B) exponential phase

  
• Sationary phase is when the number of bacteria dying is equal to the rate of reproduction

  death phase is when the number of bacteria dying is greater than the rate of reproduction

  A) Lag Phase

  B) exponential phase

  C) Stationary phase

  D) death phase

  
• substances that are directly involved in growth and reproduction are called?

  Primary metabolites
• Secondary metabolites are substances that have no direct involvement in growth or reproduction but instead protect organism against predators, attract mates etc.
• Primary metabolites are primarily produced in the?

  lag phase

  exponential phase

  as they are directly absorbing and producing resources to grow
• Secondary metabolites are produced in the? (what phases)

  stationary phase

  death phase
• Microorganisms are cultured on?

  Agar plates
• Fermenters are used to grow microorgansims on a large scale by providing?

  oxygen

  water

  optimum temperature

  Optimum pH - by using a buffer solution
• Label the fermenter's components:

  A - helps keep the temperature at a certain point

  B - involved in the above

  C - responsible for pushing D

  D - the solution is thick and helps move microorganisms around

  E - provides a passage for oxygen to enter

  F - provides a passage for carbon dioxide to escape to prevent co2 from building up pressure and boom

  A) water inlet

  B) water outlet

  C) motor

  D) gas outlet

  E) stirrer

  F) air inlet

  
• batch fermenation is most appropriate for collected which kind of metabolite and why?

  secondary metabolites as the fermenter is left until the microorganisms reach the death phase where they are then collected and the fermenter is then sterilised and given more microorganisms and nutrient broth
• continuos fermentation is most appropriate for collecting which kind of metabolite and why?

  primary metabolites as when the microorganisms reach the exponential phase they are immediately replaced and with nutrient medium
• What are the 2 types of fermentation used in industry?

  batch

  continuous