Chemometrics applications in biotech processes: a review

Biotech unit operations are often characterized by a large number of inputs (operational parameters) and outputs (performance parameters) along with complex correlations amongst them. A typical biotech process starts with the vial of the cell bank, ends with the final product, and has anywhere from 15 to 30 such unit operations in series. The aforementioned parameters can impact process performance and product quality and also interact amongst each other. Chemometrics presents one effective approach to gather process understanding from such complex data sets. The increasing use of chemometrics is fuelled by the gradual acceptance of quality by design and process analytical technology amongst the regulators and the biotech industry, which require enhanced process and product understanding. In this article, we review the topic of chemometrics applications in biotech processes with a special focus on recent major developments. Case studies have been used to highlight some of the significant applications.