Abstract L-Asparaginase (L-ASNase) is a biopharmaceutical used for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment, dramatically increasing the patients’ chance of cure. However, its production and distribution in developing countries were disrupted because of its low profitability, which caused great concern among patients. This study evaluates the feasibility of combining fractional precipitation and aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) to purify L-ASNase from a low-grade product, commercially known as Acrylaway® L. The ATPS purification results were not particularly expressive compared to the two-step purification process composed of ethanol precipitation and gel filtration, which was able to recover the target molecule with a purification factor over 5 fold. Thus, we studied a purification process capable of manufacturing pharmaceutical grade L-ASNase from a commercially available low-grade raw material; however, improvements regarding its throughput must be achieved, and high purity is the first step to apply it as a new biopharmaceutical product. The proposed process could pose as a short-time solution to mitigate its shortage while a cost-effective production plant is being developed.

RESUMO Fibroína (FB) e nanocelulose bacteriana (BC) são produtos naturais que podem ser usados na biomedicina, nas indústrias eletrônicas e de alimentos e outras áreas. Todos eles apresentam biocompatibilidade, podendo ser utilizados para diversos fins. A mistura de fibroína e nanocelulose bacteriana foi projetada para produzir um material biocompatível para ser aplicado com um dispositivo médico. Por esse motivo, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as propriedades estruturais da mistura de BC e FB. Assim, FB foi extraída do Bombyx mori e a BC foi produzida por processo de fermentação utilizando Gluconacetobacter xylinus. As membranas compostas de BC-FB foram produzidas por contato de imersão por 24 horas, a 25 °C, em 100 rpm, sem agente reticulante. Após a produção, as amostras de membrana foram secas e caracterizadas por espectroscopia de Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier (espectroscopia FTIR), propriedades mecânicas, eficiência de intumescimento, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e microtomografia computadorizada (µCt). Os resultados indicam que as membranas porosas com ligações de hidrogênio obtidas apresentaram morfologia porosa anisiotrópica, fechada e interconectada. As características morfométricas, que se assemelham a um favo de mel e consistem em uma estrutura longa com alta conectividade e alta porosidade total, amplificam as áreas de aplicações da mistura BC-FB, com potencial utilização com dispositivos optoeletrônicos, em áreas que variam desde ambiental à engenharia tecidual. Além disso, a produção por contato de imersão permitirá o processo de alta qualidade e o desenvolvimento de material de rótulo verde.

ABSTRACT Fibroin (FB) and bacterial nanocellulose (BC) are natural products, being used in biomedicine, electronics, food industries and other areas. Both show biocompatibility, able to be used for many different purposes. The blending of fibroin and bacterial nanocellulose was design to produce a biocompatible material to be applied with a medical device. For this reason, the objective of this work was to evaluate the structure properties of the blending of BC and FB. Thus, FB was extracted from Bombyx mori and BC was produced by fermentation process utilizing Gluconacetobacter xylinus. The membranes composed of BC-FB were produced by immersion contact for 24 hours, at 25°C, in 100rpm; without crosslinking agent. After the production the membrane samples were dried and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR spectroscopy), mechanical proprieties, swelling efficiency, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and computerized microtomography (µCt). Results indicate that the hydrogen-bonded porous membranes obtained displayed anisiotropic, closed and interconnected porous morphology. The morphometric characteristics, which resemble a honeycomb and consist of a long structure with high connectivity and high total porosity, amplify the areas of BC-FB blend applications, with potential utilization with optoelectronic devices, in areas ranging from environmental to tissue engineering. Furthermore, the production by immersion contact will allow the upscale process and the development of green label material.

Abstract Microalgae are aquatic unicellular microorganisms that can be found both in freshwater and marine systems; are capable of photosynthesis; and can grow as individual cells or associated in chains or small colonies. Microalgae cultivation has gained large momentum among researchers in the past decades due to their ability to produce value metabolites, remarkable photosynthetic efficiency, and versatile nature. The wide technological potential, and thus increasing amount of scattered knowledge, may become the very first barrier that a post graduating student, or any non-specialist reader, will face when introduced to the subject. In this review paper, we access the core aspects of microalgae technology, covering their main characteristics, and comprehensively presenting the main features of their various cultivation modes and biological activity from metabolites.

ABSTRACT The use of biopharmaceuticals dates from the 19th century and within 5-10 years, up to 50% of all drugs in development will be biopharmaceuticals. In the 1980s, the biopharmaceutical industry experienced a significant growth in the production and approval of recombinant proteins such as interferons (IFN α, β, and γ) and growth hormones. The production of biopharmaceuticals, known as bioprocess, involves a wide range of techniques. In this review, we discuss the technology involved in the bioprocess and describe the available strategies and main advances in microbial fermentation and purification process to obtain biopharmaceuticals.