Acetylation |
A chemical process where an acetyl group is added to a compound, typically replacing a hydrogen atom. It's a form of organic esterification using acetic acid. |
Active Ingredient |
A substance in a product that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. |
Adherent Cell Culture |
A type of cell culture method which involves growing cells attached to a surface/carriers, promoting cell adhesion and growth. |
Adipocytes |
Also known as “fat cells”, are the primary constituents of adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat. |
Affinity Chromatography |
A separation method based on a specific binding interaction between an immobilized ligand and its binding partner. |
Allogeneic Cell Therapy |
Refers to using cells from a donor, different from the recipient, to treat diseases. |
Amino Acid |
Molecules used by all living things to make proteins |
Analytical Testing |
A broad term used to describe various techniques that are used to identify the chemical makeup or characteristics of a particular sample |
Animal Health |
Encompasses the well-being of livestock and companion animals, crucial for food security, human health, and environmental balance. |
Anions |
Anions are negative ions—they are negatively charged because they have gained one or more electrons and therefore have more electrons than protons. |
Antibodies |
Also known as “immunoglobulins”, are crucial proteins generated by the immune system to recognize and neutralize foreign bodies like viruses or bacteria. |
Antibody Caninization |
A process that involves modifying antibodies to resemble those found in dogs. |
Antibody Felinization |
A process that involves modifying antibodies to resemble those found in cats. |
Antigens |
Refers to diverse molecules that trigger immune responses in the body by stimulating the production of antibodies. These can be proteins, peptides, polysaccharides, lipids, or nucleic acids, found on the surface of cells or introduced from outside sources. |
Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) |
A class of small peptides that widely exist in nature and they are an important part of the innate immune system of different organisms. |
Anti-nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Antibody |
An antibody that works by binding to nerve growth factor (NGF) and blocks its interaction with TrkA to interrupt the pain-sensing neurons to send signals, reducing pain in conditions like osteoarthritis. |
Anti-sense Oligonucleotides |
A single-stranded deoxyribonucleotide, which is complementary to the mRNA target.
The goal of the antisense approach is the downregulation of a molecular target, usually achieved by induction of RNase H endonuclease activity that cleaves the RNA-DNA heteroduplex with a significant reduction of the target gene translation |
Aptamers |
Defined as short single-stranded oligonucleotides that are capable of binding various molecules with high affinity and specificity. |
Aquaculture |
Defined as breeding, raising, and harvesting fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants. |
Aseptic Processing |
Defined as the processing and packaging of a commercially sterile product into sterilised containers followed by hermetic sealing with a sterilised closure in a manner that prevents viable microbiological recontamination of the sterile product |
AsterTide™ |
Refers to Esco Aster’s cell therapy manufacturing platform |
AsterMavors™ |
Refers to Esco Aster’s cellular agriculture/complementary protein manufacturing platform |
Astericle™ |
Refers to Esco Aster’s extracellular vesicle manufacturing platform |
ATCC |
American Type Culture Collection
A nonprofit, global biological resource center and standards organization and the leading developer and supplier of authenticated cells lines and microorganisms. |
Attenuated Vaccine |
A type of vaccine created by weakening a live pathogen, maintaining its viability while reducing its virulence. These vaccines prompt an immune response similar to a natural infection, providing robust and long-lasting immunity. |
Atmospheric Room Temperature Plasma (ARTP) Technology |
A powerful technique to initiate random mutagenesis for microbial strain improvement. |
Autologous Cell Therapy |
Refers to using cells from the patient himself/herself to treat diseases. |
Auxotroph |
An organism unable to produce specific essential compounds necessary for its growth in particular environments. This inability results in reliance on external sources for these compounds. |
Baby Hamster Kidney (BHK) Cells |
Cell line that originates from baby hamster kidney cells, specifically from 1-day-old hamsters. They are utilized for the study of viral infections due to their susceptibility to a wide range of viruses. |
Beta-lactoglobulin |
A major whey protein in bovine milk accounting for approximately 10%–15% of total milk proteins and 58% of whey protein |
Birnavirus |
Belong to double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses that infect vertebrate animals and other animals.
Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) under the family Birnaviridae has been established as a replication-competent viral vector capable of carrying an epitope at multiple loci in the genome. |
Bioactives |
Defined as nutrients and nonnutrients present in the food matrix (vegetal and animal sources) that can produce physiological effects beyond their classical nutritional properties. |
Biogenesis |
The development of life from preexisting life |
Biomass |
Defined as the total cellular content in cultures, critical for evaluating growth. |
Biopolymer |
Refers to polymers produced from natural sources either chemically synthesized from a biological material or entirely biosynthesized by living organisms. |
Bioprocessing |
Refers to the process of using living organisms, cells, or their components to produce useful products. It plays a crucial role in various industries, including biopharmaceutical manufacturing, but also the production of food, biofuels, and others. |
Bioreactor |
A vessel that have been designed and produced to provide an effective environment for enzymes or whole cells to transform biochemicals into products |
Bioscaffold |
Refers to a material typically composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) obtained by removing cells from tissues. These scaffolds play a crucial role in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine by providing structural support and cues for cell growth |
Biopsy |
A medical procedure that involves taking a small sample of body tissue so it can be examined under a microscope. |
Carbon dioxide (CO2) |
A gas produced by cellular respiration in organisms during the breakdown of sugars, fats, and amino acids with oxygen. It's a natural greenhouse gas, vital for photosynthesis and maintaining Earth's temperature. |
CAR-T Cell Therapy |
A type of cell therapy that harnesses the power of the immune system to combat cancer.
It involves engineering a patient's T cells (a type of white blood cell) to recognize and attack cancer cells specifically. T cells are collected from the patient, modified in a lab to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that target cancer cells, and then infused back into the patient. |
Cations |
Referred to as “positive ions”—they are positively charged because they have lost one or more electrons and therefore have more protons than electrons. |
Cell Bank/Banking |
A systematic process of preserving and storing cell lines under controlled conditions for future use in various biotechnological applications. Its purpose is to maintain a renewable and stable supply of well-characterized cells, ensuring cell viability and functionality over an extended period. |
Cell Clone |
Refers to a group of cells sharing identical genetic information, originating from a single parent cell through asexual reproduction.
Cloning can yield genetically identical populations of cells or organisms, a process commonly employed in biotechnology and genetics. |
Cell Lines |
A general term that applies to a defined population of cells that can be maintained in culture for an extended period of time, retaining stability of certain phenotypes and functions. |
Cell Line Creation |
Refers to generating custom cell lines stably expressing foreign proteins can serve many purposes such as labeling cells to visualize their location or insertion of a gene of interest. |
Cellular Agriculture |
An emerging field of producing animal products from cell culture, rather than animals. This field builds on advances in biotechnology, and currently informs food science of protein-containing products such as milk and eggs, as well as tissue-based foods such as meat and fish |
Ceramides |
Fats or lipids that are found in skin cells.
They make up 30% to 40% of your outer skin layer, or epidermis which are important for retaining your skin's moisture and preventing the entry of germs into your body |
Circovirus |
This virus was isolated from porcine kidney cell line (PK-15) as an adventitious virus. It is small, nonenveloped animal virus with single-stranded circular DNA. |
Circular RNA (circRNA) |
A type of endogenous non-coding RNA without 5' or 3' ends, forming a covalently closed loop structure. They're distinct from linear RNAs and exhibit roles in diverse biological processes.
Their functions include acting as microRNA sponges, regulators of gene expression, and potential therapeutic targets or tools for enhanced protein production |
Chemiluminescent Immunoassays (CLIA) |
A highly sensitive immunoassay technique that combines chemiluminescence and immunoreaction, enabling lower analyte detection limits compared to other immunoassay methods |
Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) |
Recombinant receptors for antigens which redirect the specificity and function of T lymphocytes and/or other immune cells in a single molecule.
The concept of using CARs in cancer immunotherapy is that they are programmed to target tumor-associated antigens, can be replicated rapidly and homogenously. |
Chinese Ovary Hamster (CHO) cells |
Cell line derived from the ovary of the Chinese hamster, meant for use in biological and medical research and commercially in the production of therapeutic proteins. |
Chondroblast |
Progenitor cells responsible for forming cartilage. |
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) |
Refers to the federal regulatory standards that apply to all clinical laboratory testing performed on humans in the United States (with the exception of clinical trials and basic research).
A clinical laboratory is defined by CLIA as any facility which performs laboratory testing on specimens obtained from humans for the purpose of providing information for health assessment and for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease |
Clinical Trial |
A type of research that studies new tests and treatments and evaluates their effects on human health outcomes. |
Compendial Testing |
Tests that are performed to determine if the material's specifications are met and/or to address anticipated regulatory concerns. These test series can also be applied to determine general drug compatibility or for routine quality control. |
Complementary Proteins |
Refers to sets of proteins that are consumed at the same time in order to fulfil the amino acid deficiency in the other meal. |
Continuous Fermentation |
Refers to a microbial process with a constant flow of culture medium through the reactor. |
Continuous Flow Chemistry |
Describes the performance of a reaction in a continuous manner within narrow channels exploiting these intrinsic properties resulting in strictly controlled reaction conditions. |
Coronavirus |
A single strand of positive-sense RNA belonging to the family Coronaviridae.
Being positive-stranded RNA viruses, they show promise due to their ability to delete genes and carry foreign genetic material, making them potential vaccine vectors |
Cosmeceuticals |
A new category of products placed between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals that are intended for the enhancement of both the health and beauty of skin. |
Cosmetics |
Refers to substances put on the face or body that are intended to improve its appearance or quality |
COVID-19 |
An infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Transmission of the virus occurs primarily through the respiratory droplets of infected people. |
CRDMO |
Contract Research and Development Manufacturing Organization
A company that offers outsourcing solutions in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. They specialize in handling various stages of drug/biologics development, from formulation and manufacturing to packaging. |
CRISPR |
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
A revolutionary gene-editing tool derived from bacterial immune systems. It allows precise modification of DNA, offering vast potential in various fields, from medicine to agriculture. |
Cryopreservation |
Refers to preserving biological samples by freezing them at extremely low temperatures (usually below -80°C) for extended periods. |
Cultivated Meat |
Also known as “cultured meat”, is genuine animal meat (including seafood and organ meats) that is produced by cultivating animal cells directly. This production method eliminates the need to raise and farm animals for food. Cultivated meat is made of the same cell types that can be arranged in the same or similar structure as animal tissues, thus replicating the sensory and nutritional profiles of conventional meat. |
Curcumin |
A powerful compound from turmeric that aids in the management of oxidative and inflammatory conditions, metabolic syndrome, arthritis, anxiety, and hyperlipidemia |
Cytokines |
Proteins crucial for cell signaling, regulating immune responses, inflammation, and communication between cells. They're diverse and have various functions, controlling the body's defense against infections and diseases by aiding communication between immune cells |