Industrial Biotechnology

PLS 434
3 Units
Undergraduate
Fall
Samantha Orchard
Biotechnology is the use of biological processes to develop products and technologies that improve our lives and are beneficial to the planet. In this course, we will study how living organisms, primarily bacteria, fungi, and algae, are used to make food, food ingredients, feed additives, pharmaceuticals, fossil-fuel alternatives and more in large scale, and to make industrial processes more efficient and sustainable. We will look at how biotechnology products are made at the industrial scale, through the stages of Discovery, Development, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Approval, and involving genetic engineering and fermentation of the organisms and recovery and formulation of the products. In addition, we will explore some of the organisms and the contemporary companies and scientists that enable the development of these biotechnology products.