Robert Fairbrother et al 2006 Phys. Educ. 41 27 doi:10.1088/0031-9120/41/1/001
Physics and the production of antibiotics
Robert Fairbrother1, Wendy Riddle1 and Neil Fairbrother2
Show affiliationsThis article is the first in a series that describe some of the physics involved in the production of antibiotics. The field is often referred to as biochemical engineering but this does not indicate the considerable part played by physics and physicists. It is a process that undergoes continual research and development.
Penicillin has been selected for the focus of this article, although the engineering principles and underlying physics apply to the production of other microbial products such as amino acids (which can be used as food additives), bulk chemicals such as ethanol (used in everything from hair spray and aftershave to solvents for paints and explosives) and the well-known processes of brewing and baking.
In this article the application of physics to the design of the fermenter—the giant vessel in which the production of these products occurs—is discussed.
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Issue 1 ( 1 January 2006)
Received 3 May 2005
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Physics and the production of antibiotics
Robert Fairbrother et al 2006 Phys. Educ. 41 27
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