Biotechnology and Bioprocesses: Their Contribution to Sustainability

Alejandro Barragán-Ocaña,Mirtza Polanco-Olguín,Paz Silva-Borjas,Samuel Olmos-Peña

doi:10.3390/pr8040436

Alejandro Barragán-Ocaña, Mirtza Polanco-Olguín + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8040436

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Abstract

Significant advancements in biotechnology have resulted in the development of numerous fundamental bioprocesses, which have consolidated research and development and industrial progress in the field. These bioprocesses are used in medical therapies, diagnostic and immunization procedures, agriculture, food production, biofuel production, and environmental solutions (to address water-, soil-, and air-related problems), among other areas. The present study is a first approach toward the identification of scientific and technological bioprocess trajectories within the framework of sustainability. The method included a literature search (Scopus), a patent search (Patentscope), and a network analysis for the period from 2010 to 2019. Our results highlight the main technological sectors, countries, institutions, and academic publications that carry out work or publish literature related to sustainability and bioprocesses. The network analysis allowed for the identification of thematic clusters associated with sustainability and bioprocesses, revealing different related scientific topics. Our conclusions confirm that biotechnology is firmly positioned as an emerging knowledge area. Its dynamics, development, and outcomes during the study period reflect a substantial number of studies and technologies focused on the creation of knowledge aimed at improving economic development, environmental protection, and social welfare.

Highlights

IntroductionThe industrial, academic, and government sectors are bound to face technical problems as they develop competitive biotechnological products and processes using synthetic biology, genetics, and molecular biology as alternatives to chemical-based applications
Biotechnology and bioprocesses are two important tools for economic progress and social welfare.The industrial, academic, and government sectors are bound to face technical problems as they develop competitive biotechnological products and processes using synthetic biology, genetics, and molecular biology as alternatives to chemical-based applications
Processes 2020, 8, 436 and the production of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for therapeutic purposes [7,8,9]; the development of microorganisms for the processing and transformation of biomass into fuels [10,11,12]; the production of raw materials based on fermentation processes, such as ethanol, butanol [13,14,15], and other products traditionally derived from chemical sources, such as aliphatic, aromatic, and other macromolecules using bioprocesses, such as (a) separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), (b) simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and (c) consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) [16]; and the construction of bioelectronic devices for applications in multivariate data analysis, experiment design, mathematical models, sensors, and biosensors whose data are processed by software to monitor and optimize processes [17,18,19,20,21,22]

Summary

Introduction

The industrial, academic, and government sectors are bound to face technical problems as they develop competitive biotechnological products and processes using synthetic biology, genetics, and molecular biology as alternatives to chemical-based applications. In this regard, the biological control of microbial consortia based on synthetic biology solutions and the regulation and optimization of the migration from batch production to continuous production are ongoing tasks [1,2]. Processes 2020, 8, 436 and the production of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for therapeutic purposes [7,8,9]; the development of microorganisms for the processing and transformation of biomass into fuels [10,11,12]; the production of raw materials based on fermentation processes, such as ethanol, butanol [13,14,15], and other products traditionally derived from chemical sources, such as aliphatic, aromatic, and other macromolecules using bioprocesses, such as (a) separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), (b) simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and (c) consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) [16]; and the construction of bioelectronic devices for applications in multivariate data analysis, experiment design, mathematical models, sensors, and biosensors whose data are processed by software to monitor and optimize processes [17,18,19,20,21,22].

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