The Most Beautiful Scientist|Guo Xueping: The First Person in Research on Hyaluronic Acid Fermentation of Bloomage Biotech
Time: 2019-08-20
Article reprinted from Jinan High-tech Zone
In order to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's socialism thought with Chinese characteristics in the new era, implement relevant work deployment requirements, do a good job of political leadership and political absorption of scientific and technological workers, and stimulate their sense of honor, pride and responsibility, the Development Strategy and Publicity Planning Bureau of High-tech Zone organized the Most Beautiful Scientific And Technological workers selection activity in 2019, and selected 10 most beautiful scientific and technological workers in Jinan High-tech Zone in 2019. These most beautiful scientific and technological workers have long been engaged in scientific and technological innovation, poverty alleviation by science and technology, popularization of science and technology, transformation of scientific research achievements, and have made outstanding contributions to the economic and social development of High-tech Zone. A column called The Most Beautiful Scientist has recently been opened, focusing on their outstanding representatives.
Now, let us know Guo Xueping, the First Person in Research on Hyaluronic Acid Fermentation of Bloomage Biotech.
Before 1990s, domestic hyaluronic acid was mainly produced by animal tissue extraction ,such as chicken crowns and umbilical cord. The raw materials in this method were limited, and hyaluronic acid existed in complex with protein and other polysaccharides in animal tissues. The separation and purification process was complicated, with low yield, low product quality and high production cost. Production capacity was very limited, polluting the environment.. The raw material products are mainly pharmaceutical grade, and only a few products are used in viscoelastic products for ophthalmic surgery. In the market, hyaluronic acid in this period was expensive, known as platinum in Japan, and its application was greatly restricted.
Seize the opportunity .Several global firsts have come from small laboratories.
Guo Xueping was deeply aware of the wide application prospects and backward production methods of hyaluronic acid, and took the lead in the research of hyaluronic acid fermentation technology in China. Starting from a small laboratory, we overcame the shortage of research materials, equipment, researchers and funds at that time. In 1990, the topic of Hyaluronic Acid Production by Fermentation was listed in the national Eighth Five-Year Plan scientific and technological research plan. By utilizing the natural characteristics of hyaluronic acid produced by streptococcus zooepidemicus metabolism, the high-quality strains with the highest hyaluronic acid yield were obtained through wild strain mutagenesis and high-throughput screening, and large-scale fermentation production was realized. It changed the backward situation that only extraction method could be used to produce hyaluronic acid in China. In 1996, he continued to research the project Research on Fermentation Production of Hyaluronic Acid Drugs and was included in the national ninth Five-Year Plan. The company successfully developed raw materials and various preparations of medicinal hyaluronic acid with high technical barrier, high regulatory requirements and high added value. In 2000, Shandong Freida Biochemical Company Limited, the predecessor of Bloomage Biotech Company Limited, was established with the fermentation production of hyaluronic acid as the key technology. At present, the fermentation yield of hyaluronic acid has reached 14g / L, which is much higher than the industry optimal level of 6-7g / L reported in the literature, and the product quality far exceeds the highest international standard of this product— European Pharmacopoeia and Japanese pharmacopoeia standard.
In 2012, under the unremitting efforts of the R&D team led by Dr. Guo Xueping, the world realized the large-scale production of oligo-hyaluronic acid for the first time, and realized the large-scale production of hyaluronidase for the first time.
At that time, chemical degradation was the mainstream method for the production of low molecular weight and oligomeric hyaluronic acid in the industry. Chemical degradation not only requires very harsh conditions, but also the production process can pollute the environment. Dr. Guo Xueping utilizes hyaluronidase to structure-specific degradation of hyaluronic acid. The process is gentle, which solves the problems of structural destruction and uneven molecular weight distribution of hyaluronic acid produced by chemical degradation method. In addition, the degradation cycle is shortened from 12-15 days to 5-6 hours by chemical degradation method. The production efficiency is significantly improved and energy consumption is significantly reduced.
Play the ultimate role to enable hyaluronic acid to dance on different stages.
Relying on the advantages of technology, scale and cost in the upstream raw material field of hyaluronic acid industry, Dr. Guo Xueping led the team to invest in the research of new field of product application. Through the research on precise cross-linking and terminal sterilization of hyaluronic acid, the indications in medicine field were expanded, the application demand of downstream industry was expanded, and the medical terminal products and functional skin care products such as orthopedics, ophthalmology and plastic surgery were formed.
In addition, Dr. Guo Xueping has turned hyaluronic acid into biomedical materials. Hyaluronic acid, as a natural component, will be rapidly degraded and metabolized by hyaluronidase after entering into human body. The skin, eyes and joints of human body will last for about 1 to 21 days. After scientific transformation, hyaluronic acid is an ideal biomedical material. After more than 10 years of research, Dr. Guo Xueping has solved the technical problems of hyaluronic acid in this field, and developed multi-pipeline products applied in different fields with different functions.
Through technological innovation, Dr. Guo Xueping also solved the technical problem of terminal moist heat sterilization of this kind of products. Before that, due to the restriction of relevant factors, the similar products in the industry usually adopt the sterile assurance mode of aseptic filling. Dr. Guo Xueping took the lead in adopting terminal moist heat sterilization in China, replacing the aseptic assurance method of aseptic filling of other products of the same kind, increasing the sterility assurance level of the product from one thousandth to one millionth, significantly improving product safety. It solved the technical problem of terminal moist heat sterilization of this kind of products, and was used as the standard sterilization method by China Food and Drug Administration for this kind of products.
Never stop pursue .Micro power should be large-scale application.
The microbial fermentation technology initiated by Dr. Guo Xueping in China promotes the large-scale application of hyaluronic acid in the field of medicine, and gradually extends to new medical application fields such as stomatology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, tissue engineering, drug carriers, etc., leading the development of biological medicine industry and making positive contribution to human life and health.
A number of products developed through microbial fermentation technology are pioneers in China, which improve the problems of innovation of hyaluronic acid and shortage of high-end products in China, and can make up the gap of industrial chain focusing only on upstream primary processing. The research and development of hyaluronic acid and related end products with different physical and chemical biological properties and different uses have the characteristics of multi-function, precision, personalization and intellectualization. It will significantly expand its application scope to replace expensive imported products. In addition, the adoption of new technology improves product quality and reduces waste discharge, which has good social and environmental benefits.
