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High pressure equipment in the laboratory of
A. A. Yayanos, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Conference OverviewHPBB conferences bring together individuals who have much more in common than simply a need for high pressure (HP) pumps, vessels and gauges. They bring together people who think about pressure influences on biological processes in different ways in the hope of creating a synergy that is greater than the sum of its parts. The participants of this conference will include a range of science and engineering students and professionals with interests in pressure pasteurization, food processing, food chemistry, the thermodynamic influences of pressure on proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and other molecules, and those interested in HP life in deep-sea and deep-subsurface environments. HP processing (HPP) of foods is used for a variety of purposes including extraction, increasing water and salt content, modification of macromolecule structure, modification of enzyme activity and reduction of viable microbes. Compared to conventional pasteurization methods HPP has been shown in many instances to greatly improve food color, texture, favor and nutrition. This technology is present in many companies and processing centers within north America, Europe and Japan. Pressure is also a fundamental thermodynamic parameter which influences all chemical processes through effects on system volumes and activation volumes. Elevated pressure has been exploited as a thermodynamic tool to explore the biophysical properties of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and other macromolecules. It is used to explore the folding pathways of proteins, the volumetric properties of amino acids, the role of water in ligand binding, the nature of protein-nucleic acid interactions and the phase behavior of membranes. These studies are often of interest to high pressure food scientists who desire a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of HP on food chemistry. The evolution and distribution of life on earth is influenced by pressure. Deep-sea microbes exist which require elevated pressure for growth and survival, and which grow at pressures up to 130 MPa (in excess of 15,000 psi). Scientists interested in pressure pasteurization are often interested in these "high pressure extremophiles" because in some regards they represent the flip side of the scientific coin they study; microbial inactivation at HP. In the environmental sciences elevated pressure (and low temperature) is also responsible for the presence of massive deposits of hydrates of carbon dioxide and methane and many are interested in the role of deep-sea and subsurface microbes in the formation, stabilization and decomposition of these structures. As the availability of HP instrumentation has increased new applications have been discovered. HP cycling technology, promoted by Pressure BioSciences, Inc., MA, is being extensively used for more efficient high quality protein and nucleic acid extraction and for stable isotope studies of the dynamic changes in protein structure. Barofold, Inc., CO, is making use of HP to dissociate protein aggregates and thereby enhance high throughput production of functional proteins in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. Others have discovered that vaccine production can be improved by pre-treating proteins at HP. Some groups are currently exploring the possibility of HP treatment of transplant organs and tissues as a means of eliminating pathogens and certain antigens responsible immuno-rejection responses. Many of the applied aspects of HPBB trace their origins to academic labs pursuing fundamental aspects of biology and chemistry. Thus, this meeting, with its designed mixture of basic and applied research, provides a stimulus for the development of additional innovations. In summary, the HPBB 2008 conference is needed to accomplish the following:
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