ABSTRACT
The processing of cells, biomedical substances, and/or high-valued biotechnological products has always been a major issue in bioengineering and biomedicine. In fact, from approximately 5% (in the case of wholesale products) up to 90% (in the case of pharmaceuticals) of the production costs are due to downstream processing (Bo¨hm and Pittermann 2000). Isolation, separation, and purification of various types of proteins, peptides, and other specific molecules are required in almost all branches of biosciences and biotechnologies (Safarik and Safarikova 2004). Therefore, separation technologists are under constant pressure to develop more efficient separation processes, both at laboratorial and large scale levels, capable to separate and/or purify the target biosubstances, even if present at very small concentrations, and also even when they are in the presence of particulate matter.
