Varsha Joshi

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B. Pharm., M. Tech. BPT (Currently Ph. D. Student)
Email: ce06vs.joshi@ictmumbai.edu.in

Education Details
Course	Institute/University	Year of Passing
B. Pharm.	University of Pune	2003
M. Tech. Bio Process Technology	University Institute of Chemical Technology, UICT, Mumbai	2006
Ph. D. Tech. Bio Process Technology	University Institute of Chemical Technology, UICT, Mumbai	-

Abstract of Ph. D. Thesis:

ADVANCED SEPARATION TECHNIQUES FOR BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS: STUDIES IN FILTRATION AND DRYING

Improved bioseparation techniques are increasingly important for biotechnology because separation is often the limiting factor for the success of biological processes. Manufacturers of new enzymes and pharmaceutical products require improved methods for recovering intact cells and intracellular products. Similarly the isolation, purification and concentration of many biomolecules produced in fermentation processes are extremely important. There are a number of unit operations: cell disruption, membrane filtration, drying and reversed micellar extraction. Often such downstream processing contributes a large portion of the product cost and thus efficient and economical alternative approaches to bioseparation processes are needed to eliminate, reduce or facilitate the handling of solids. Filtration and drying are the two important steps in downstream processing which can help in reducing the cost of the process.
Filtration: The constituents of a biotechnological broth are many and varied, but in general they can be grouped into classes-either by size or function. By size they are: large particles-cells, cell fragments, etc.,size > 0.1 μm; colloidal particles-proteins, and other polymers > 1 nm; and solutes of lesser molecular weight, from the simple mineral types to polysolutes, moderately sized reactive molecules like coenzymes etc. < 1 nm. The application of membranes then can be grouped into fractionating these constituents.
The sterile filtration of fermentation media, purification buffers, and protein product pools is standard practice in industry. Microfiltration is also used extensively for medium exchange and harvest. Ultrafiltration can be found in virtually every biotechnology process. A significant number of mammalian cell processes use filtration as an integral part of the overall strategy for viral clearance. Depth filters have also seen widespread use for the clarification of both mammalian and bacterial feed streams. Improvements in membrane technology are now focused on high-resolution applications, including improved protein–virus separation, protein purification by high-performance tangential flow filtration and enhanced membrane chromatography.
Drying: After filtration, the main objective is formulation and drying of the filtered product. Quality of the dried product is of paramount concern, particularly in the case of biological products due to its thermolabile nature. Numerous and varied undesirable changes can occur in the product during drying and in the worst case it is possible to obtain a dry but totally in activated product, but use of suitable drying techniques can reduce the probability of inactivation and hence make the process economical.

Proposed Work:

1. Selection of a proper filtration system for the chosen products and study of the effect of different operating parameters in filtration of the same on different product qualities.

2. Optimization of process parameters for filtration and study of proper pre-drying processing for the variety of filtered biological products.

3. To study the drying techniques and the optimization of process parameters.

4. Study on post drying formulation of selected biological products.

5. Modeling of the experimental data and applying them for the scale-up purpose.

6. Studying the cost effectiveness of the complete separation process.