Freeze-dryer for functional and bioactive biproducts

该设备申请者的研究活动包括生物技术和用于生产治疗性蛋白质、病毒产品、蛋白质食品配料和汽车应用的生物复合材料的材料。这些应用需要在长时间内获得大量稳定的生物制品。生物产品的干燥使它们可以长时间储存。冷冻干燥系统是一种温和的干燥操作，避免使用空气和高温，这对生物制品是有利的，因为它保存了这些产品的质量。其工作原理是先冻结产品，然后用极低的压力将水从产品中除去，从而使冻结的水汽化。这种方法是独一无二的，因为在要冷冻的生物产品中几乎没有水的移动。由于实现干燥所需的低压力和长时间的巨大成本，需要可靠的真空泵和对导致生物产品干燥的各个步骤的精确控制。

The research activities of the applicants for this equipment include biotechnology and materials for the production of therapeutic proteins, virus products, protein food ingredients and biocomposite materials for automotive applications. These applications require the availability of significant quantities of stable bioproducts over long periods of time. The drying of bioproducts allows their storage for prolonged periods of time. A freeze-drying system is a mild drying operation that avoids the use of air and high temperatures which is advantageous for bioproducts because it preserves the quality of these products. The principle of operation consists of an initial freezing of the product with subsequent removal of the water from the product by using a very low pressure that leads to the vaporization of the frozen water. This approach is unique in that there is very little movement of water within the bioproduct to be frozen. The significant costs due to the low pressure required and the long time required to achieve the drying require a reliable vacuum pump and a precise control of the individual steps leading to the drying of the bioproducts.