Acknowledgements.

Preface.

1 Fermentation: An Art from the Past, a Skill for the Future (Brian McNeil and Linda M. Harvey).

2 Fermentation Equipment Selection: Laboratory Scale Bioreactor Design Considerations  (Guy Matthews).

3 Equipping a Research Scale Fermentation Laboratory for Production of Membrane Proteins (Peter C.J. Roach, John O’Reilly, Halina T. Norbertczak, Ryan J. Hope, Henrietta Venter, Simon G. Patching, Mohammed Jamshad, Peter G. Stockley, Stephen A. Baldwin, Richard B. Herbert, Nicholas G. Rutherford, Roslyn M. Bill and Peter J.F. Henderson).

4 Modes of Fermenter Operation  (Sue Macauley-Patrick and Beverley Finn).

5 The Design and Preparation of Media for Bioprocesses  (Linda M. Harvey and Brian McNeil).

6 Preservation of Cultures for Fermentation Processes (James R. Moldenhauer).

7 Modelling the Kinetics of Biological Activity in Fermentation Systems (Ferda Mavituna and Charles G. Sinclair).

8 Scale Up and Scale Down of Fermentation Processes (Frances Burke).

9 On-line, In-situ, Measurements within Fermenters (Andrew Hayward).

The book

• begins with a brief background on the development of fermentation, through the criteria for selection of lab based fermenters, with a chapter on the more specialised needs and challenges of equipping a lab for membrane protein expression, before moving on to practical aspects of cultivation modes, medium preparation and sterilisation, and culture preservation and inoculum work up techniques.
• The modelling of fermentation processes is then discussed, followed by an examination of the practical aspects of scaling up or scaling down fermentations. The typical sensors used to monitor fermentations are then described and associated challenges presented. More specialised, and less frequently considered areas relating to fermentation are described, including the selection and use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems ( SCADA).
• The penultimate chapter focuses on a brief discussion of the variability inherent in fermentation processes, their consequences and how this can be described and quantified.
• The final chapter deals with a description of the various continuous culture systems (e.g. chemostats), and of how powerful these technologies are in helping us understand better the physiology of microbes, or cultured cells (animal or plant) via definition and control of their environment in the fermenter.

This volume is not intended to be a handbook, but by presenting some of the more challenging aspects of the practice of fermentation, the learning curve of the newcomer may be accelerated, and their path to competence smoothed a little.