Bioprocessing, Bioproduction and Bioproducts
Summary
Bioprocessing harnesses the metabolic pathways of living cells and their enzymes to convert renewable feedstocks into fuels, chemicals and materials. It integrates microbiology, biochemistry and engineering to optimise upstream operations—selection and improvement of production strains, medium formulation and bioreactor design—and downstream protocols for product recovery and purification. Bioproduction spans microbial fermentation, cell-based biocatalysis and enzyme-mediated reactions, supporting the transition from petrochemical to bio-based manufacturing. Bioproducts cover a broad spectrum, from primary metabolites such as organic acids and alcohols to polymers, pharmaceuticals and single-cell protein, underpinned by circular-economy models that valorise waste streams and minimise environmental impact. Recent advances in strain engineering, bioreactor monitoring, process intensification and high-throughput screening have accelerated the scale-up of lab discoveries to industrial reality.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent work has transformed microbial biomass into nutritious and sustainable proteins using advanced synthetic-biology tools and photobioreactor automation, achieving continuous algal cultivation with programmable genetic circuits and record productivities. A comprehensive proteomic comparison of filamentous fungi grown on diverse lignocellulosic substrates revealed quantitative CAZyme expression patterns and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase repertoires, guiding tailored enzyme cocktails for efficient biomass breakdown. Enzymatic polymerisation of lignin-derived pyridinedicarboxylate monomers under mild conditions produced fully bio-based polyesters with controllable thermal transitions and crystallinity, underscoring viable alternatives to petroleum plastics.
Bioprocessing, Bioproduction and Bioproducts publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in bioprocessing, bioproduction and bioproducts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Biocatalysis: Acceleration of chemical reactions by whole cells or isolated enzymes under mild, sustainable conditions.
Fed-batch cultivation: A process mode in which substrate is incrementally added to control growth rate, avoid substrate inhibition and enhance product yield.
kLa (volumetric mass transfer coefficient): Parameter quantifying the rate of oxygen transfer from gas to liquid, critical for aerobic fermentations.
2D fluorescence spectroscopy: Optical technique that records fluorescence across excitation and emission spectra for real-time monitoring of cellular metabolites and products.
Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes): Enzymes that synthesise, modify or break down complex carbohydrates, essential for biomass deconstruction in biorefineries.
References
- Overview of Bioprocess Engineering.
- Quantitative comparison of the biomass-degrading enzyme repertoires of five filamentous fungi. Scientific Reports (2020).
- Enzymatic synthesis of lignin derivable pyridine based polyesters for the substitution of petroleum derived plastics. Nature Communications (2019).
- Assessing the capabilities of 2D fluorescence monitoring in microtiter plates with data-driven modeling for secondary substrate limitation experiments of Hansenula polymorpha. Journal of Biological Engineering (2023).
- Thermal segment microwell plate control for automated liquid handling setups. Lab on a Chip (2024).
- Enzyme controlled glucose auto-delivery for high cell density cultivations in microplates and shake flasks. Microbial Cell Factories (2008).
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