Scope of Pharmaceutical microbiology

1. SCOPE OF MICROBIOLOGY WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
Atifa Ambreen
M. Phil, Microbiology
Government College University, Faisalabad

2. MICROBIOLOGY AS A FIELD OF BIOLOGY
 Microbiology is the study of living organisms of microscopic
size, which include bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa; and the
infectious agents that are called viruses. It is concerned with
their form, structure reproduction, physiology, metabolism, and
classification. it includes the study of their distribution in
nature, their relationship to each other and to other living
organisms, their effects on human beings and on other animals
and plants, their abilities to make physical and chemical
changes in our environment, and their reactions In physical and
chemical agents.

3.  Historically, the divisions followed the major groups of life, as
in zoology (animals). botany (plants), entomology (insects), and
microbiology. (microorganisms). Another manner of
subdividing the subject matter of biology is based on the level
at which the study is conducted: for example, studies at the
level of molecular constituents of the cell (molecular biology);
studies at the level of the cell (cell biology); studies at the level
of the intact organism (organismal biology); and studies of
groups of organisms (population biology). Still another
approach is to establish divisions on the basis of form and
function, as in morphology or anatomy, physiology,
metabolism, and genetics.

4.  In microbiology we can study organisms in great detail and
observe their life processes while they are actively
metabolizing, growing, reproducing, aging, and dying. By
modifying their environment we can alter metabolic
activities. regulate growth, and even change some details of
their genetic pattern—all without destroying the organisms.
For example, bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect
and reproduce in bacteria, demonstrate the complete
sequence of host-parasite reaction.

10. SCOPE OF PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY
 The scope of microbiology is to immense due to its
ability to control all critical points of many fields like
Medical, Dairy, Pharmaceutical, Industrial, Clinical,
Research, water industry, agriculture,
nanotechnology and chemical etc.

11. APPLICATION OF MICROBIOLOGY IN VARIOUS
SECTORS
 Pharma industries
 Medical devices
 Biopharmaceutical testing
 Cosmaceuticals
 Cells banks
 Viral seeds
 Fermentation models
 Pollution and environmental microbiology

12. PHARMA INDUSTRIES
AND RESEARCH CENTERS
 Understanding the principle of microbiology, cell structure
and functions of microbes and human cell mechanism
allows pharmacists to discover antimicrobial drugs that
would prevent an escalating number of communicable
diseases.
 Pharmaceutical microbiologist work synergistically with
others to ensure that drug therapies target opportunistic
microbes (e.g. fungi) without harming its host.

13. PHARMA IDUSTRIES
 Production of antibiotics, enzymes, vaccines, vitamins
and other pharmaceutical products.
 Concept of manufacturing, preventing drug or drug
product by microbial contamination.
 Virus are used for preparation of vaccines that have
great impact on the community by preventing from
deadly diseases e.g. Measles, chicken pox, hepatitis,
tuberculosis, polio.
Edward Jenner’s successful cowpox vaccine (in 1798)

14.  Bacterial vaccines: Pneumonia (Streptococcus
pneumoniae)
 Two vaccines are available: pneumococcal
polysaccharide and pneumococcal polysaccharide-
protein conjugate vaccines.

15. MEDICAL DEVICES
 Studying microbiology helps in understanding
mechanism/principle of medical devices such as
fluorescent fusion, which are used for fast and
precise detection of pathogens in tissue samples.
 It is a technology for carrying out
immunofluorescence studies that may be applied to
find specific cells in complex biological system.

16. COSMACEUTICALS
 Microbial contamination of cosmetic products is a
matter of great importance to the industry and it can
become a major cause of both product and
economic losses.
 The water and nutrients present in cosmetics make
the susceptible to microbial growth, although only a
few cases of human injury due to contaminated
cosmetics have been reported.

17.  Therefore, studying microbiology is necessary for
preparation, processing and quality control of
cosmaceuticals.

18. BIOPHARMACEUTICAL TESTING
 A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological
medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug
product manufactured in, extracted from, or semi
synthesized from biological sources.
They can be used in both human and animal medicine.

19.  Biopharmaceutical are a class of medical products
which are typically produced using biotechnology, most
commonly in a bioreactor.
 These include: therapeutic proteins, vaccines,
oligonucleotides etc.
 The production of these molecules is a complex and
sensitive to contaminations.

20.  Mycoplasma, viruses, bacteria and fungi can cause
trouble, even in well maintained and well designed
productions plants.
 When microbes are used for their beneficial effects, it is
equally necessary to eradicate them when needed e.g.
from sterile products, hospital sectors to regulate good
health practices.

21. CELL BANKS
 A cell banks refers to the facility that stores cells of
specific genome for the purpose of future use in a
products or medicine needs.

22.  The advantages of cell banks are:
A. Detailed characterization of the cell line.
B. Decrease in the likelihood.
C. An increase in the detection of cross-
contamination of the cell line.
Services of pharmacist are required in analysis and
quality control section.

23. FERMENTATION MODELS
 Humans have unknowingly made use of microorganisms
for centuries to carry out fermentation processes to make
yoghurt, cheese, bread, wine and beer etc.
 Besides classifying fermentation processes as batch, fed-
batch or continuous they can be classified according to
how dependent the product formation is upon energy
consumption.

24. SOME EXAMPLES OF FERMENTATION
PRODUCTS

26. POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL
MICROBIOLOGY