Intro lecture

Question 1

Which was the first commercial antibiotic

Answer 1

Sulphonamide

Question 2

Sulphonamides key points

Answer 2

Originally a part of azo dye collection. Bio-converted to sulfanilamide in the body. Sulfanilamide stops growth of gram positive bacteria. Sulfanilamide mimics a precursor in folate biosynthesis and stops bacterial growth

Question 3

what does penicillin do

Answer 3

blocks production of cell wall in bacteria, kills bacteria

Question 4

current & future bioengineering products

Answer 4

current- food& beverages, antibiotics, vaccines, biofuels,enzymes
future- robotic limbs, synthetic blood

Question 5

what was developed first

Answer 5

vaccines

Question 6

unit operations used to purify penicillin?

Answer 6

crystallisation, activated carbon removal of pigments, adsorption onto ion exchange resin

Question 7

the first liquid cultivation of penicillin was undertaken in?

Answer 7

Bedpan. Put in media so it forms a layer inside the pan. cotton wool plug as barrier to outside world. sterilise. grow penicillium &harvest

Question 8

how did Andrew moyers group improve yield of penicillium

Answer 8

used shake flasks. glass flask with baffles to break up flow of liquid inside. mimics what happens inside a bioreactor

Question 9

what colour was the original penicillin

Answer 9

yellow due to impurities. later processes used activated charcoal to remove the colour