Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals

The presence or absence of blood stains often provides important information for those investigating criminal cases. For this reason, forensic scientists are often called on to determine whether or not a particular stain is blood, and if so, whose. The detection of blood is usually based on one of three classes of methods. READ MORE...

Animals involved in racing are sometimes given drugs to improve their speed, stamina, courage or conduct. It is, however, illegal for an animal to have these compounds in its system on race day. ESR tests urine and blood samples of racing animals to detect such illegal 'doping'. READ MORE...

Opiates are any chemicals derived from morphine and codeine, and morphine and codeine themselves. These chemicals are all pain killers and they all produce drowsiness. Some also produce feelings of euphoria, and they are all to some extent dependence-inducing. For these reasons they are used both medically and illicitly. READ MORE...

DNA is the chemical code that is found in every cell of an individual's body, and is unique to each individual. Because it is unique, the ability to examine DNA found at a crime scene is a very useful forensic tool. READ MORE...

Peptides are the long molecular chains that make up proteins. Synthetic peptides are used either as drugs (as they are biologically active) or in the diagnosis of disease. Peptides are difficult to make as the synthetic chemist must ensure that the amino acids that make up the chain are added in the correct order and that they don't undergo any other reactions. READ MORE...

The pharmaceutical industry in New Zealand takes the active ingredients of drugs (which are imported from overseas) and converts them into a form that can easily be given to a patient. This involves mixing the active ingredient with various other ingredients with appropriate chemical properties, then either compressing the mixture into a tablet, filling a gelatine capsule with it or dissolving it in an appropriate solvent. READ MORE...

Natural products provide many fine chemical and biochemical extracts needed in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. By-products from the meat industry are one rich source of such materials. This article gives some of the classes of material which can be extracted from meat industry by-products: steroids, polysaccharides, proteins, thymus extracts and hormones, and information on their end uses. READ MORE...

Biocatalysis can be broadly defined as the use of biological molecules (usually enzymes) to catalyse specific chemical reactions. Enzymes are complex protein molecules. They are produced by living organisms to catalyse the biochemical reactions required for life. Although enzymes are formed within living cells, they can continue to function in vitro (in the test-tube) and their ability to perform very specific chemical transformations is making them increasingly useful in industrial processes. READ MORE...

A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to stimulate the production of antibodies and procure immunity from one or several diseases.

Clostridium bacteria are found in soil and in the guts of animals. They are anaerobic (grow in the absence of oxygen), and produce a wide range of toxins leading to disease. Vaccines are required to give animals protection against these diseases. READ MORE...

Cancer is one of the most widespread and feared diseases in the Western world today - feared largely because it is known to be difficult to cure. The main reason for this difficulty is that cancer results from the uncontrolled multiplication of subtly modified normal human cells. One of the main methods of modern cancer treatment is drug therapy (chemotherapy). READ MORE...