Basic Concept of Biotechnology 23

  Medical Biotechnology Living cells and cell materials are used in the field of Medical biotechnology for research purposes to produce pharmaceutical and diagnostic products resulting in the treatment and prevention of human diseases. Insulin as well as growth hormones is the exemplary discoveries in the field of medical biotechnology. Tissue culture techniques are being used in detection of in born defects of metabolism and haemoglobinopathies; congenital abnormalities and understanding of clinical aspects of autosomal and sex chromosomal disorders. Medical biotechnology has advanced to develop organ culture, produce artificial blood and to perform transgenesis. The organ culture is performed to precisely model functions of an organ in numerous states and conditions by the usage of the existent  in vitro  organ itself. The substitutes for blood are under progress for transfusion in lieu of donor blood during emergencies or prolonged surgeries. Clinical trials are being ...

  History Biotechnology has been applied in the medical science for hundreds of years with mankind’s revelation that diseases can be cured from living organisms by using their products. The earliest known use of antibiotics can be traced back to 2500 years ago, when the mouldy curds made from soybeans were used by ancient Chinese to fight infection. Louis Pasteur is considered one of the pioneers in the improvement of modern antibiotics. In 1870s, he discovered that saprophytic  bacillus  can check the growth of anthrax bacteria ( Bacillusanthracis ). Alexander Fleming discovered penicillinin in 1928. In 1973, the medical age of biotechnology was started by Herb Boyer and Stanley Cohen when they could develop a technique ofintroducing DNA into an  E. coli  bacterium and created a transgenic bacterium. Later this recombinant DNA technology was used to successfully introduce the human insulin gene into  E. coli . The genetically engineered  E. coli ...

  Human Genome Project and its influence on medical biotechnology The human genome project was started in 1990 under the coordination of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The main goals of human genome project were to:   ·          identify all the approximately 25,000-30,000 genes in human DNA,   ·          determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human genome Applications of genome research   Some recent and budding applications of genome research include:   ·          Molecular medicine   ·          DNA forensics (identification in crime spots)   ·          Energy sources and environmental applications   ·          Agriculture, livestock bree...

  Detecting Genetic Diseases Earlier, genetic testing was usually performed on foetuses for the purpose of identifying the sex of a child or for identifying a number of genetic diseases such as syndromes. Mostly, amniocentesis was conducted in such cases and then karyotyping was performed. Karyotyping is also used for adults for checking missing, duplicate or defective chromosomes in adults. With the advancement of research, more refined techniques are being invented; and being useful to detect individual diseased genes in children and adults. Correct diagnosis of a genetic disorder allows for more rapid and effective application of appropriate treatment. Gene Tests based on DNA can detect inherited breast and ovarian cancer, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Hereditary nonpolyposis, Alzheimer's disease, Ataxia telangiectasia, Hemophilia A and B, colon cancer, Tay-Sachs Disease, Cystic fibrosis, Myotonic dystrophy, Spinal muscular atrophy, Sickle cell disease etc.

  Pharmacogenomics   It covers the aspect of designing of the most operative drug therapy and treatment approach based on the detailed genetic profile of a patient. Same drug produces different responses in different individuals. Pharmacogenomics gives hope that extensive genetic studies will lead to the production of personalized drugs and increase their safety and efficacy.  Gene Therapy   Briefly, Gene therapy is useful for correcting defective (missing or damaged) genes. This can be done by:   ·          Insertion of a normal gene into a nonspecific position   ·          Swapping of abnormal gene for normal gene   ·          Repairing an abnormal gene   ·          Turning a gene on or off   Typically, a carrier molecule called a vector is used for inserting a normal gene into the g...

  Diagnostics and Therapeutics Biotechnology proposes a major avenue to developed therapies and treatments. The development and usage of biotechnology techniques have enabled us to define the structure of DNA as well as the coded message hidden in the gene of DNA. Evidently, the sequence of genes stretched on an organism’s DNA is accountable for the individual traits. It has been discovered that faulty genes cause few diseases of the human body viz. Huntington’s disease, a degenerative disorder of nerve cells. A single gene that produces a defective protein results in nerve cell death. The known genes for causing specific diseases can be used as targets to develop designed treatments for those diseases. Since the genes causing the disease is known, the finding of the treatment becomes cheaper and easier. The conventional pharmaceuticals are not able to reach these gene targets. Another major reason is the large biological molecules like synthetic insulin for which biotechnology is ...

  Role of biotechnology in developing vaccines A vaccine is a safe biological preparation, administered to humans to make them immune against a particular disease. The immune system of the human body identifies the vaccine as a foreign particle and destroys it, but the memory of the foreign matter remains intact with the immune system. Later, when the person factually gets infected withthe virulent form of the disease causing organism, the immune system immediately recognises it and fight against the infection by releasing antibodies. There are several possible ways to develop a vaccine and it depends upon the procedure of infection by disease-causing microbes, the response of the immune system, the target site of the vaccine and the different physical characteristics of the microbe. Monovalent vaccines can immunize against one disease and multivalent vaccines immunize against two or more strains of the same disease-causing microbe or more than one disease. The various approaches a...

  Treatment of Cancers Treatments using monoclonal antibodies are being used now-a-days against numerous forms of cancer. In this type of treatment, synthetic monoclonal antibody is attached with the cancer cell followed by killing the cancerous cells in different ways. The monoclonal antibody Cetuximab blocks the growth signals produced by the cancer cells resulting in the halting of the cells growth and thus colon cancer is treated. Gemtuzumab combined with strong chemotherapeuticals are administered into the cancer cell where they become active and minimize damage to adjacent normal tissues, help in treating acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). Rituximab facilitates the cancer cell to be more visible to the immune system to get destroyed. This antibody is useful in treating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Herceptin is a monoclonal antibody to treat breast cancer cells in women expressing the protein HER2. Herceptin specially binds to those cancer cells and discontinue their proliferation....