Mar. Drugs 2010, 8, 1323-1372; doi:10.3390/md8041323 OPEN ACCESS Marine Drugs ISSN 1660-3397 www.mdpi.com/journal/marinedrugs Review Bioprocessing Data for the Production of Marine Enzymes Sreyashi Sarkar, Arnab Pramanik, Anindita Mitra and Joydeep Mukherjee * School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India; E-Mails:
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[email protected]; Tel.: 0091 33 2414 6147; Fax: 0091 33 2414 6414. Received: 5 March 2010; in revised form: 31 March 2010 / Accepted: 12 April 2010 / Published: 19 April 2010 Abstract: This review is a synopsis of different bioprocess engineering approaches adopted for the production of marine enzymes. Three major modes of operation: batch, fed-batch and continuous have been used for production of enzymes (such as protease, chitinase, agarase, peroxidase) mainly from marine bacteria and fungi on a laboratory bioreactor and pilot plant scales. Submerged, immobilized and solid-state processes in batch mode were widely employed. The fed-batch process was also applied in several bioprocesses. Continuous processes with suspended cells as well as with immobilized cells have been used. Investigations in shake flasks were conducted with the prospect of large-scale processing in reactors. Keywords: marine; enzyme; bioprocess; bioreactor 1. Introduction Although it has been realized that the marine realm is a rich and a largely untapped resource of products that are of potential interest to mankind, only a few of these marine natural products have reached the stage of commercial production.