BIOLOGY Volume 2 - A Guide to General Biology - 2004

12. MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

12.16. Enzyme technology

12.16.2. Why is it necessary to isolate enzymes?

Since Enzymes are usually obtained from microorganisms, one might wonder whether it is simpler to use whole Cells in fermenters rather than extracting the enzymes beforehand. If product formation requires more than one chemical reaction and, consequently, more than one enzyme, the process mirrors what occurs naturally within a Cell. Nevertheless, using purified enzymes rather than whole microorganisms is generally preferable for the following reasons: ¹

1) constructing and operating fermenters for culturing microorganisms is expensive;

2) Fermentation must be carried out under sterile conditions;

3) aerating and agitating whole cells in a fermenter consumes a significant amount of energy;

4) products remain in an unpurified state within fermenters;

5) waste products from fermenters must be disposed of, which can lead to environmental pollution.

Industrial processes employing purified enzymes utilize specialized Reactor designs. While describing them is beyond The Scope of this book, they are considerably simpler than fermenters.