Disruption of the cell envelope is one of the first steps in the recovery of materials contained within microbial cells. Conventional techniques typically involve high shear, heat generation, and multiple stage processing, all factors which can lead to degradation of the desired product. Furthermore, these techniques often lead to the creation of small cell wall fragments which adds to the burden of downstream purification. This work suggests a method of cell disruption which may avoid these difficulties, improve product yields, and prove more economical as well. The method, a modified form of explosive decompression, is based on the large specific volume changes which may be rapidly effected upon depressurization of a supercritical fluid or low-boiling liquid. Any process requiring microbial cell disruption may benefit significantly from the proposed explosive disruption method. Downstream processing accounts for 50 percent to 80 percent of the total cost in the production of most bioproducts. The development of this technique for cell disruption could lead to the economical recovery of many important proteins for human health care that will otherwise be neglected.
