Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry
Volume 2014, Article ID 413616, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/413616
A Proposal for Six Sigma Integration for Large-Scale Production of Penicillin G and Subsequent Conversion to 6-APA
1Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201307, India
2Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
3Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
4Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Received 25 November 2013; Accepted 16 January 2014; Published 24 February 2014
Academic Editor: Kiran Kumar Doddapaneni
Copyright © 2014 Anirban Nandi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Six Sigma methodology has been successfully applied to daily operations by several leading global private firms including GE and Motorola, to leverage their net profits. Comparatively, limited studies have been conducted to find out whether this highly successful methodology can be applied to research and development (R&D). In the current study, we have reviewed and proposed a process for a probable integration of Six Sigma methodology to large-scale production of Penicillin G and its subsequent conversion to 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA). It is anticipated that the important aspects of quality control and quality assurance will highly benefit from the integration of Six Sigma methodology in mass production of Penicillin G and/or its conversion to 6-APA.