Friday, June 21, 2013

Common Biotechnology Terminology

By Armand Zeiders


The industries of today use many technologies and this includes genetic engineering, which is a kind of biotechnology industry. A lot of fields use this king of technology like in agriculture, the medical field, and also others. This is also used in the production of chemicals in the chemical industry. Many people get attracted to this industry, especially the science minded people and also the researchers and they are attracted to research and development in this field. Familiarity with some terms used in the industry has to be done, for those planning to join the industry.

Monoclonal antibodies are terms commonly used in this industry. These are the antibodies that are mono specific, are the same because these are made from identical immune cells which are also clones from a unique parent cell. Antibodies are proteins produced by the body's immune system to counter the foreign proteins or antigens, which are harmful. The antibodies bind to the antigens so that these can be recognized and eventually destroyed.

There is also another term often used in biotechnology, and this is polyclonal antibodies. These are biotech produced antibodies where requirement of technology is only low and also not expensive in the production. Production time of polyclinic antibodies is short thus lower cost of the antibodies produced is cheaper and large amounts can be produced. Polyclonal antibodies produced are cheap when this is compared to monoclonal antibodies production. These are the productions done in laboratories, like the injection of specific antigens into goats and rabbits of which later, the extraction of blood is done.

Another term used is N-terminal sequencing, another term which you can encounter once you enter the biotech industry. In the biotechnology industry, this is a procedure where samples are tested in the laboratories, and this is for support in research and development. Many biotech laboratories run samples using the procedure and can come up with laboratory results that turn out quick. These are usually biotech procedures done for identity determinations and also for purposes of evaluation.

If you are in the biotechnology industry, you will commonly encounter terms like peptide syntheses, a term often used in the biotech field. The production of organic compounds termed as peptides is this peptide synthesis, and this is not new to the chemistry students and also scientists. Proteins possess several biochemical actions and proteins are those found in the body as well as all living things. These proteins are found in the skin, hair, muscles, and other parts in the body and appear as hormones or enzymes. Peptide synthesis is vital in biotechnology, and you can see this in the production of vaccines and new antigens that are important to people.

The biotechnology industry is composed of several services, including those previously mentioned here. All research laboratories in the biotechnology industry worldwide offer several services and those previously mentioned are only the common services offered. Other high technology services are offered especially that biotechnology is not only limited to the medical field but likewise into agriculture, industrial technologies, and others. A lot of research and development efforts are done in these lines of industries, of which biotechnology plays an important function.




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