IMMOBILIZATION OF CELLS FOR APPLICATION IN THE FOOD-INDUSTRY

Immobilization of cells offers advantages to the food process industri es, including enhanced fermentation productivity and cell stability an d reduced downstream processing costs due to facilitated cell recovery and recycle. This article summarizes the varied immobilization method ologies, including adsorption, entrapment, covalent binding, and micro encapsulation. Examples of interest to the food industry are provided, together with a review of the physiological effects of immobilization . Topics in process engineering include immobilized cell bioreactor co nfigurations and the scale-up potential of the various immobilization techniques.