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Insulin is a hormone that controls blood glucose levels produced by the beta cells in the pancreas. As a medication, insulin was discovered by Frederick Banting and Charles Best in 1921, for which Banting was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1923. The insulin production process involves manipulating the biological precursor to insulin and cultivating it inside bacteria using specialized technology.

Which insulin equipment do you need?

High-frequency vibratory mixer

Mixing liquid products by stirring method generates heat from friction and shear forces. This...

Acoustic cell retention system

Using high frequency resonant ultrasonic waves to separate cells instead of a physical mesh o...

Autoclavable glass bioreactor

Especially designed for cell culture applications and research applications such as process op...

Autoclavable stainless steel bioreactor

For cell culture and microbial culture applications.

Photobioreactor for plant growth

SSL (Solid state lamps) plant light has unique and useful characteristics for plant growth ...

Lab scale Bioreactor controller

Success with bioprocesses is all about controlling the environmental conditions controls so ...

Small-scale bioreactor controller

When you are working with small bioreactors, starting from 50 ml volumes, you need a good...

Scalable bioreactor controller

When you are up-scaling bioprocesses, starting at the lab and going all the way to the pilot ...

Dissolved Oxygen sensor

The vast majority of all biotechnological processes are aerobic, where a microorganism or cell respon...

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Scaling-up from a laboratory scale to pilot plant and small scale production can be simpl...

Micro-Flask

During the initial stages of scale-up, researchers often have limited data available with which they must decide o...

Mini bioreactors

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pH Sensor

pH is one of the most important parameters of cell-culture and fermentation processing in the biotech industry. New ...

Resonance Acoustic Mixer

Utilized when applying low-frequency and high-intensity acoustic energy to agitate microbial culture...

Single-use bioreactor Appliflex

A single-use bioreactor is a bioreactor with a disposable bag instead of a culture vessel, c...

Single-use bioreactor CellReady 3L

A single-use bioreactor is quite simply a bioreactor with disposable vessel for culture ...

Single use bioreactor Hyclone

A single-use bioreactor is a bioreactor with a disposable vessel for culture of cells, instead...

Spiral jet mill

Jet mills are frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry and also for the production of fine-grade chemica...

Superheated water shower autoclave

Specially designed for sterilizing large batches of parenteral solutions.

Dry heat depyrogenation oven

Specially designed for the drying and sterilization of glass containers, vials or ampoules, and...

Sterility test isolators

Designed to avoid this risk and protect the product from both the process and externally generated f...

3D disposable bags for bioprocesses

Manufacturers in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to single-use so...

Disposable tank liners

Manufacturers in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to single use solutions for the...

Disposable manifold bags for bioprocesses

Manufacturers in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to dispos...

Normal flow filtration sets for bioprocesses

Bio-processors require reliable, high quality, easy to maintain, filtration e...

Disposable mixer bags for bioprocesses

Bioprocessors must use ingredients of known high quality and consistency.  Inconsist...

Disposable pillow bags for bioprocesses

Manufacturers in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to single us...

Biocompatible tubing for peristaltic pumps

Sensitive bioprocess applications requires equipment that will not interfere wi...

Y sets tubing for bioprocesses

Manufactueres in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to single use solution...

Disposable tubing for manifolds in bioprocesses

Manufacturers in the bioprocessing industries are increasingly turning to ...

Automated single use tangential flow filtration system

Tangential Flow Filtration is an essential to the biopharmaceutica...

Semi-automated tangential flow filtration system

Tangential Flow Filtration is an essential to the biopharmaceutical proce...

Semi-automated normal flow filtration system

Normal Flow Filtration is frequently used the biopharmaceutical processing in...

Bag holder and weighing platform for bioprocesses

Single use bags for biopharmaceutical process containment and liquid st...

Lab scale tangential flow filtration system

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Lab scale normal flow filtration system

Normal Flow Filtration is frequently used the biopharmaceutical processing industry...

Automated dispensing system for bioprocesses

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Single-use pressure sensor

Biopharmaceutical manufacturers are increasingly making use of Single-use pressure sensors to enh...

Single-use conductivity sensor

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Single-use temperature sensor

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Automated cell culture clarification system

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High-speed aseptic injectable vial filling machine

Fill up to 24,000 vials per hour with pharmaceutical powders or liquid...

Disposable monolithic columns

Chromatographic monolithic columns for working with large proteins, viruses, VLPs and pDNA req...

Short bed monolithic columns for analytics

Samples taken at various process steps need to be analysed quickly and accurate...

Plasmid process pack for your pDNA purification process

When developing a pDNA purification process for eventual transfer...

Purification screening kit for large biomolecules

To purify a specific large biomolecule, for example IgM or a virus or v...

Compact H2O2 disinfection system

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24 fully controlled bioreactors in a microtiter format

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Flexible automatic inspection machine for syringes

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Flexible automatic inspection machine for ampoules, vials, cartridges

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Small automatic inspector for ampoules, vials, or cartridges

Inspect small batch production of ampoules, vials, or cartr...

Semi-automatic inspection machine for ampoules, vials or cartridges

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Visual and HVLD inspection for ampoules, vials and cartridges

Do you need to improve the efficiency and capability of yo...

Closed restricted access barrier system

Pharmaceutical production techniques often require ...

Single use bioreactor

Single use, micro-bioreactors could be a good solution for replication processes, especially when they ...

Bioreactor software

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Bioprocess control software

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Optical Dissolved Oxygen Sensors

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Complete bioreactor system

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Pre-packed and pre-validated chromatography columns

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Automated bubble traps for chromatography

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Cold forming aluminum blister machine for capsules

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The differences between animal-derived insulin and human insulin

Insulin injections are used for managing blood sugar levels in individuals who can’t naturally produce insulin. For many years, using insulin derived from animals, mainly porcine or bovine pancreases was the norm, but the production of human insulin became a more popular alternative since its discovery in the 1980s. Manufacturing biosynthetic human insulin via gene technologies is a preferred method for not having to depend on animals as well as the possibility to produce unlimited amounts by multiplying the insulin gene inside bacteria.

Aside from production efficiency, as extracting large amounts from animal tissue is challenging, some issues with animal-derived insulin production are related to the raw animal tissues and diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) and possible cross-contamination through injections. Furthermore, the chemical differences between human and animal insulin can lead to antibody attacks, inactivation and inflammation.

However, a shortage of animal-sourced insulin in developed countries is a concern for a small number of individuals who experience severe hypoglycemic episodes when using biosynthetic insulin, and generally feel healthier when undergoing an animal-derived insulin treatment.

The steps and technology in recombinant insulin production processes

 

Recombinant DNA is a technology for the large-scale production of insulin by inserting the human gene which carries codes for the protein insulin into a plasmid of a simple bacteria, most commonly Escherichia coli. Producers then add ligase, an enzyme that acts like glue to help the plasmid stick to the bacterium’s DNA. The bacteria undergo a fermentation process inside a large fermentation tank, where millions of bacteria replicate every 20 minutes. The insulin harvest starts by adding a mixture of lysozyme which digests the outer layer of the cell wall and a detergent mixture which separates the fatty cell wall membrane.

The insulin is separated from the bacterium’s DNA with the help of a cyanogen bromide treatment which splits protein chains at the methionine residues. An oxidizing agent is added and the mixture is placed in a centrifuge to separate cell components. The DNA mixture is purified by using one of the following techniques: ion-exchange column, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography or a gel filtration chromatography column. Finally, the purified substance is ready for medical use.

The future of insulin patents and treatment delivery

Although the use of insulin pens is a practical therapy due to their reusable nature, ability to increase patient compliance and accuracy, and there are innovative solutions to enhance the delivery of insulin in the future. An alternative for diabetes care would be oral application, however, scientists are looking for ways to avoid enzymatic degradation upon consumption. Solutions can be found in nanoparticle-based approaches which protect insulin from gastrointestinal conditions and enhance the permeability of the enzyme.

A further option is the bioresponsive insulin delivery system, which accelerates insulin release with increasing glucose levels. Furthermore, manufacturers are working on the production of inhaled insulin devices, with insulin particles small enough to reach the deep lung and pass into the bloodstream. Another aerosol option is buccal insulin, a spray absorbed through the inner cheek wall. Finally, absorbing insulin through the skin with the help of insulin patches is another idea in development.

Transgenic plants as a solution for high demand

The insulin production process and its current manufacturing technologies struggle to keep up with the steadily increasing demand for affordable insulin due to a rising number of patients with diabetes. This is especially the case in the United States. One of the most effective alternatives is the manufacture of recombinant human insulin from the plant Arabidopsis Thaliana and its oilseeds. Plant-based insulin is easy to produce, cost-effective, free from human pathogens and involves high-quality protein processing.

The oilseeds are genetically engineered with the recombinant protein targeting oil bodies and then processed by separating oil bodies via liquid-liquid phase to reduce chromatography steps in the purification of insulin. Transgenic plants can produce a high level of biologically active proinsulin and it can further be enzymatically treated in vitro which is an economic method for mass production.

Processing steps involved in insulin making

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