This document provides an introduction to biotechnology. It defines biotechnology as the application of scientific principles to processing materials using biological agents to provide goods and services. Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that incorporates various areas of science. The document outlines the history of biotechnology from ancient uses of microorganisms in food production to modern applications of genetic engineering. It also describes various biotechnology techniques such as genetic engineering, tissue culture, and polymerase chain reaction. The industries and applications of biotechnology are diverse, ranging from medicine to agriculture to environmental uses.

1. BIOTECHNOLOGY:
AN INTRODUCTION
AMITHA ELIZABETH JOY
M.Sc. Biotechnology,1st PG
ST. THOMAS COLLEGE , PALAI

2. CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• DEFINITION
• MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE
• CLASSIFICATION
• COLOURS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
• BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES
• BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES
• APPLICATIONS

3. INTRODUCTION
• BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC &
ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES TO THE PROCESSING OF MATERIALS BY
BIOLOGICAL AGENTS TO PROVIDE GOODS & SERVICES.
• THE HUNGARIAN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER KARL EREKY FIRST
COINED THE TERM ‘BIOTECHNOLOGY’ IN 1919, MEANING THE
PRODUCTION OF PRODUCTS FROM RAW MATERIALS WITH THE AID
OF LIVING ORGANISMS.
BIO : Life
TECHNOLOGY : Any technique or procedure used to develop new
useful products.

4. INTRODUCTION
• THERE IS A COMMON MISCONCEPTION THAT BIOTECHNOLOGY INCLUDES RECOMBINANT
DNA TECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC ENGINEERING ONLY.
• BIOTECHNOLOGY IS NOT NEW. MAN HAS BEEN MANIPULATING LIVING THINGS TO SOLVE
PROBLEMS AND IMPROVE HIS WAY OF LIFE FOR MILLENNIA. ROOTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
CAN BE TRACKED BACK TO 6000 B.C. WHEN SUMERIANS FERMENTED BEER. IN 4000 B.C.
EGYPTIANS USED YEAST (SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE) TO PREPARE BREAD AND WINE.
• DAHI/CURD AND MILK FERMENTATIONS HAD BEEN IN USE IN INDIA SINCE TIMES
IMMEMORIAL DURING THE VEDIC PERIOD. EARLY AGRICULTURE WAS CONCENTRATED
ON PRODUCING FOOD. PLANTS AND ANIMALS WERE SELECTIVELY BRED AND
MICROORGANISMS WERE USED TO MAKE FOOD ITEMS SUCH AS BEVERAGES, CHEESE AND
BREAD.
• ‘NEW BIOTECHNOLOGY’ HAS EMERGED AS A BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION AND LED TO
CREATION OF A WORLD OF – ENGINEERED PRODUCTS.

5. DEFINITION
• BIOTECHNOLOGY IS A TERM WHICH IS A COMBINATION OF 2 INDIVIDUAL TERMS BIOLOGY AND
TECHNOLOGY.AS THE NAME SUGGESTS IT IS THE ASSEMBLY OF TECHNOLOGY IN SCIENCE OF
BIOLOGY.
• MOST SIMPLY IT MAY BE DEFINED AS : THE REGULATED AND CONTROLLED USE OF BIOLOGICAL
AGENTS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF USEFUL PRODUCTS FOR GENERATING BENEFICIAL SERVICES.
THIS BIOLOGICAL AGENTS MAYBE MICROORGANISMS, ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR THERE CELLULAR
COMPONENTS. HOWEVER IT IS NOT EASY TO DEFINE BIOTECHNOLOGY IN A SIMPLE SENTENCE
BECAUSE OF ITS WIDE AND MULTI DISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS.
• ONE OF SUCH STANDARD DEFINITION AS GIVEN BY THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF
BIOTECHNOLOGY IS AS FOLLOWS: BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE INTEGRATED USE OF BIOCHEMISTRY,
MICROBIOLOGY AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE TECHNOLOGICAL
APPLICATIONS OF THE CAPABILITIES OF MICROORGANISMS, CULTURE CELLS OR TISSUES AND
PARTS THEREOF.
• U.S. NATIONAL SCIENCE FEDERATION SAYS THAT BIOTECHNOLOGY IS A CONTROLLED USE OF
BIOLOGICAL AGENTS SUCH AS MICROORGANISMS OR CELLULAR COMPONENTS FOR BENEFICIAL
USE.

6. BIOTECHNOLOGY AS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY
ACTIVITY
• BIOTECHNOLOGY IS TRULY MULTIDISCIPLINARY OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IN
NATURE AND IT ENCOMPASSES SEVERAL DISCIPLINES OF BASIC SCIENCES AND
ENGINEERING. THE SCIENCE DISCIPLINES FROM WHICH BIOTECHNOLOGY DRAWS
HEAVILY ARE MICROBIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, GENETICS
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, TISSUE CULTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY.
• RECENT ADVANCEMENTS HAVE LED TO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPLICABILITY OF
BIOTECHNOLOGY. VARIOUS AREAS IN THIS DISCIPLINE IS VERY FREQUENTLY
USED IN LARGE SCALE ARE : AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY,
ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINES, ENERGY AND FUELS, ENZYME TECHNOLOGY, WASTE
UTILISATION, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, ETC.

7. FIG.1 : MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

8. CLASSIFICATION
• FROM HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE , BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS : ANCIENT/OLD , CLASSICAL
AND NEW/MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY.
• ANCIENT BIOTECHNOLOGY : IT BEGAN WITH EARLY CIVILIZATION. OUR ANCESTORS WERE PRODUCING
WINE, BEER AND BREAD BY USING FERMENTATION, A NATURAL PROCESS IN WHICH THE BIOLOGICAL
ACTIVITY OF UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE .THEY ALSO FOUND THAT BY
MANIPULATING THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE FERMENTATION TOOK PLACE ,THEY COULD IMPROVE
BOTH THE QUALITY AND YIELD OF THE INGREDIENTS THEMSELVES.
• CLASSICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY : IT FOLLOWED ANCIENT BIOTECHNOLOGY WHICH MAKES WIDESPREAD USE OF
METHODS FROM ANCIENT BIOTECHNOLOGY ESPECIALLY FERMENTATION METHODS ADOPTED TO
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION. IT PRODUCES LARGE QUANTITIES OF FOOD PRODUCTS AND OTHER MATERIALS
IN SHORT TIME TO MEET DEMANDS OF INCREASING POPULATION.
• MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY : IT DEALS WITH MANIPULATING GENETIC INFORMATION . MICROSCOPY AND
ADVANCED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES ARE USED FOR IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE. IT IS BASED ON
ADVANCEMENTS IN GENETIC RESEARCH FROM THE MID 1800’S.IN 1859 DARWIN PUBLISHED HIS THEORY OF
EVOLUTION ON THE ‘ORIGIN OF SPECIES’. USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE NEW LIFEFORMS EMERGED
IN MID 1900’S AND IT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY rDNA TECHNOLOGY.

9. • RED BIOTECHNOLOGY: MEDICINE AND HUMAN HEALTH
• WHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY: INDUSTRIAL PROCESS INVOLVING MICROORGANISMS
• GREEN BIOTECHNOLOGY: PROCESS IMPROVING AGRICULTURE
• BLUE BIOTECHNOLOGY: MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY
• YELLOW BIOTECHNOLOGY: FOOD AND NUTRITION
• GREY BIOTECHNOLOGY: ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
• GOLD BIOTECHNOLOGY: BIOINFORMATICS/COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
• BROWN BIOTECHNOLOGY: BIOTECHNOLOGY OF DESERT AND DRY REGIONS
• VIOLET BIOTECHNOLOGY: LAW, ETHICS & PHILOSOPHY
• DARK BIOTECHNOLOGY: BIOTERRORISM/BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

10. BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES
• SOME OF THE BASIC TOOLS THAT ARE FREQUENTLY EXPERIMENTED WITH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY TO
EXPLODE SURROUNDING APPLICATIONS ARE STATED BELOW:
• GENETIC ENGINEERING/rDNA TECHNOLOGY: THE USE OF CELLULAR ENZYMES TO MANIPULATE DNA
TRANSFERRING DNA BETWEEN UNRELATED ORGANISMS.
• PROTEIN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: USED TO IMPROVE EXISTING OR CREATE NOVEL PROTEINS TO
MAKE USEFUL PRODUCTS.
• ANTI SENSE/RNAi TECHNOLOGY: CAN BLOCK OR DECREASE THE PRODUCTION OF CERTAIN
PROTEINS.
• CELL AND TISSUE CULTURE TECHNOLOGY: GROWING CELLS /TISSUES UNDER LABORATORY
CONDITIONS TO PRODUCE AN ENTIRE ORGANISM, OR TO PRODUCE NEW PRODUCTS.
• BIOINFORMATICS TECHNOLOGY: COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL DATA LIKE SEQUENCE
ANALYSIS OF MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURES, HIGH THROUGHPUT PROFILING DATA ANALYSIS.

11. BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES
• PROTEIN SEPARATION AND IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES:
1. CONTOUR CLAMPED HOMOGENEOUS ELECTRIC FIELD GEL ELECTROPHORESIS
2. AGAROSE GEL ELECTROPHORESIS (AGE)
3. VERTICAL PULSED FIELD GRADIENT ELECTROPHORESIS
4. PULSED FIELD ELECTROPHORESIS
5. POLYACRYLAMIDE GEL ELECTROPHORESIS (PAGE)
6. MICROARRAY
7. ISOELECTRIC FOCUSING
8. FIELD INVERSION GEL ELECTROPHORESIS
9. 2 DIMENSIONAL/2D GEL ELECTROPHORESIS

12. BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES
• BLOTTING TECHNIQUES : TECHNIQUES USED FOR TRANSFERRING BIOMOLECULES FROM IMPERMANENT SUPPORT
MATERIALS TO A PERMANENT ONE .
1. SOUTHERN BLOTTING (DNA)
2. WESTERN BLOTTING (PROTEINS)
3. NORTHERN BLOTTING (RNA)
4. DOT BLOT TECHNIQUE
5. AUTORADIOGRAPHY
• STERILIZATION TECHNIQUES:
1. STEAM STERILIZATION
2. ULTRAVIOLET STERILIZATION
3. FLAME STERILIZATION
4. FILTER STERILIZATION
5. DRY STERILIZATION
6. CHEMICAL STERILIZATION
7. ALCOHOL STERILIZATION

13. BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNIQUES
• PCR BASED TECHNIQUES: FOR AMPLIFICATION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS.
• GENE TRANSFER TECHNIQUES: METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING DESIRED GENE OF INTEREST.
(TABLE.1)
CHEMICAL METHODS
1.CALCIUM PHOSPHATE CO-
PRECIPITATION
2.POLYCATION-DMSO TECHNIQUE
3.PEG-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION
4.DEAE –DEXTRAN PROCEDURE
PHYSICAL METHODS
1. ULTRASOUND MEDIATED GENE
TRANSFORMATION
2. SILICON CARBIDE FIBRE
MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION
3. MICRO-INJECTION
4. MACRO-INJECTION
5. LIPOSOME-MEDIATED METHOD
6. ELECTROPORATION
7. BIOLISTICS/PARTICLE
BOMBARDMENT/MICRO
PROJECILE/GENE-GUN
METHOD
8. VIRUS-MEDIATED GENE
TRANSFER
9. BACTERIA-MEDIATED GENE

14. BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES
• THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY IS COMPRISED OF HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES
THAT FUSE BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP DRUGS AND RELATED
PRODUCTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
• TODAY'S BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY INCLUDES COMPANIES THAT MAKE
MEDICAL DEVICES AND DIAGNOSTICS, AS WELL AS BIOFUELS, BIOMATERIALS,
POLLUTION CONTROLS, AND MORE.
• AMONG THE LARGEST COMPANIES IN THE INDUSTRY ARE PHARMACEUTICAL
COMPANIES LIKE VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC. (VRTX) AND GILEAD SCIENCES
INC. (GILD). GILEAD'S INVESTIGATIONAL COMPOUND NAMED REMDESIVIR IS SEEN
AS HAVING THE POTENTIAL TO TREAT COVID-19.
• THESE COMPANIES GENERALLY FOCUS ON CREATING AND TESTING NEW DRUG
COMPOUNDS FOR MEDICAL USE, AND MUST GO THROUGH LENGTHY TRIAL AND
APPROVAL PROCESSES FOR THEIR PRODUCTS.

15. TOP BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES
• NOVO NORDISK A/S (NVO) (DENMARK)
• REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS INC. (REGN) (WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW
YORK)
• ALEXION PHARMACEUTICALS INC. (ALXN) (BOSTON, USA)
• VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC. (VRTX) (BOSTON, USA)
• JAZZ PHARMACEUTICALS PLC (JAZZ) (DUBLIN, IRELAND)
• INCYTE CORP. (INCY) WILMINGTON, (DELAWARE, USA)
• BIOMARIN PHARMACEUTICAL INC. (BMRN) (CALIFORNIA, USA)
• UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORP. (UTHR) (MARYLAND, USA)

16. INDIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES
• ADINATH BIO-LABS LTD.
• ALPA LABORATORIES LTD.
• BIOCON LTD.
• CAMSON BIO TECHNOLOGIES LTD
• CELESTIAL BIOLABS LIMITED
• GENESIS IBRC INDIA LTD
• GENOMIC VALLEY BIOTECH LTD
• MAVENS BIOTECH LTD.
• PANACEA BIOTEC LTD.
• SAAMYA BIOTECH (INDIA) LTD.
• SHREE GANESH BIOTECH (INDIA) LTD
• VIVO BIO TECH LTD.

17. APPLICATIONS
FIG.2

18. FIG.3

19. REFERENCES
• GUPTA, V., SENGUPTA, M., PRAKASH, J., & TRIPATHY, B. C. (2016). AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY. BASIC AND
APPLIED ASPECTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, 1–21. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1007/978-981-10-0875-7_1
• EVENS, R. P., & WITCHER, M. (1993). BIOTECHNOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION TO RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY AND
PRODUCT AVAILABILITY. THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING, 15(6), 514–520.
• CLARKE, L., & KITNEY, R. (2020). DEVELOPING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FOR INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
APPLICATIONS. BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS, 48(1), 113–122. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1042/BST20190349
• CORNELISSEN, M., MAŁYSKA, A., NANDA, A. K., LANKHORST, R. K., PARRY, M., SALTENIS, V. R., PRIBIL, M., NACRY, P.,
INZÉ, D., & BAEKELANDT, A. (2021). BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR TOMORROW'S WORLD: SCENARIOS TO GUIDE DIRECTIONS
FOR FUTURE INNOVATION. TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY, 39(5), 438–444. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1016/J.TIBTECH.2020.09.006

20. THANK YOU