Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Common Biotechnology Terminology

By Armand Zeiders


Biotechnology is the genetic engineering technology of today that is used in many industries. It is technology used in the medical field, in the agricultural industry, and also in many other fields. It is common in industries like production of chemicals and also many others. Research and development programs in this field have grown extensively and thus also attracting people to be in this field, like the researchers and scientists. Thus, if you are planning to join the biotechnology industry you have to be familiar with some terms used in this industry.

This industry uses a lot of terms and monoclonal antibodies is just one of these. Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies created from a unique parent cell, and these are mono specific because they are the same and made form identical immune cells from the parent cell. Foreign proteins or antigens are harmful to the human body, and these are the targets of the antibodies, to counter the foreign protein. Destruction of the antigens can come after the antibodies bind these and eventually recognized and 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.

N-terminal sequencing is also another term used in biotechnology, which you will also commonly encounter if you want to enter into this industry. This is procedure used in the laboratories for testing of samples or for research and development support. There are biotechnology laboratories which can run many samples and also with results and turnaround times that are quick. These are procedures in the lab for identity determinations and also for evaluation purposes.

If you will look for a term often used in biotechnology, it is peptide synthesis, and you will encounter this term more often in this industry. This term is commonly heard by scientists and chemistry students because this is the production of organic compounds, peptides. Humans, including all living things, have proteins and these possess several biochemical activities in the body. These appear as hormones or enzymes and can be found in the muscles of human beings or the skin or hair. Peptide synthesis has a big impact in biotechnology, and more in the field of medical studies, like the development of new antigens or the making of vaccines.

The terms mentioned here are also services in the field of biotechnology, and you can also see other services likewise. These are only the common services offered in the biotech industry, and you can see these services in the laboratories in these biotechnology industries. Biotechnology is not only limited to medical and you can see other high technology services in other fields other than medicine, and these are agriculture and in other industries. Biotechnology plays very important in these lines of industries, especially in their research and development.




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