Medical and Biotechnological Applications

Implementing low-energy electron-beam technology for innovative biotechnological processes

Biotechnology is regarded as a key technology of the 21st century and is rapidly gaining market share worldwide. Consequently, innovations that make biotechnological processes more efficient and open up new fields of application are of enormous importance. A strong link with engineering sciences is an essential prerequisite for the competitive development of the German biotechnology industry. The project therefore intends to harness and combine electron-beam technology in a novel hybrid system – a modern method for stimulating and more efficiently implementing biotechnological processes in the liquid phase.

Current conventional electron-beam systems exhibit deficiencies in applicability, and their scalability is insufficiently adaptive. Project BioIntElekt is developing an innovative technology for low-cost treatment of liquids using low-energy electrons for customized biotechnological applications. The unique feature of the hybrid technology is the direct contact between the electron-beam source and the liquid, resulting in hardly any energy losses. The miniaturization of the electron-beam source integrated into the bioreactor represents a key component of the pioneering hybrid technology and increases its cost-effectiveness.