Bioprocessed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Referring to substances refined by biological means to enhance their suitability for specific applications
2. Treated or transformed using living organisms or enzymes for industrial or scientific use
3. Altered through natural biological methods to improve function or composition

Etymology: Bio- comes from the Greek "bios", meaning life, and "process" entered English from Old French and Latin, where it meant a course of action or proceeding. Put together, "bioprocess" describes an industrial or laboratory operation in which living cells, microorganisms or enzymes do the work of changing a material, such as fermenting sugar into alcohol or using bacteria to break down waste. The word is a plain compound rather than a story of invention. Its first element points to the biological agents involved, and its second to the stepwise handling of materials that makes up manufacturing. The "-ed" ending simply marks the word as describing something that has already undergone such treatment, so a batch of medicine that has been "bioprocessed" is one that was made with living systems at some stage.