The use of on-line sensors in bioprocess control

Commercialization of the products of biotechnology will require a continued emphasis on bioprocess design and scale-up. The use of process automation and control will help to meet the specifications of quality, safety, and cost. In the past, the application of process monitoring and control to biological processes has been limited by the availability of suitable sensors. New developments have combined the tools of microelectronics and molecular biology to address some of these limitations. Continued developments in this area will require close cooperation between microbiologists and process engineers to best apply these new tools. A general understanding of the concepts of process control, as they relate to biological processes, will contribute to that cooperation.