Nitrogen is the 7th most abundant element in the Milky Way and the 5th most abundant in the Solar System. It’s everywhere throughout space! However, it’s not just constrained to space; nitrogen is the 4th most abundant element in our bodies!
Nitrogen, AbbVie, and…Guinness®?
Nitrogen and its Abundance
Every time you take a breath, you’re inhaling the air that is critical for your survival. However, only 21% of that air is the oxygen we need. 78% percent of that air is made up of Nitrogen, the most abundant naturally occurring gas on Earth! Even though the nitrogen from the air cannot be absorbed into our body by breathing, it is still critical to our body. It plays a significant role in a number of biological processes. Read on to learn more about Nitrogen and the importance it has on our lives!
Nitrogen – It’s Elementary!
Atmospheric Nitrogen
As mentioned, the air we breathe is made up of primarily nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) and an extra 1% of numerous other elements. We cannot absorb this nitrogen through breathing, so why is there so much of it?
One reason is that bacteria in the ground convert the gaseous nitrogen into important compounds for plants to grow such as ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates.
Nitrogen in the Body
The most common place nitrogen is found in our bodies is in proteins and our DNA. Just like oxygen, we rely on nitrogen to survive, but if we can’t breathe it, how do we absorb nitrogen?
Plants that uptake nitrogen from the soil are the key! As these plants are consumed by animals or us, their leaves, stems, etc. are rich in nitrogen containing compounds that our body can absorb when we consume them. Additionally, if we consume animals that eat nitrogen rich plants, we’ll absorb nitrogen that was as well.
Once the nitrogen is absorbed into our body, it is immediately put to work in numerous biological processes.
Protein Synthesis
Amino acids are the building blocks for proteins. Each amino acid has Nitrogen as part of its structure and is key for protein formation!
DNA
DNA is central to our being. DNA consists of 4 building blocks (bases), each which has nitrogen in it!
Nitrogen in Manufacturing
Not only is Nitrogen a critical element for our bodies, but it also plays a fundamental role in our manufacturing processes at AbbVie! Nitrogen is widely used throughout all types of process steps. From fermentation to filling vials, Nitrogen is a key player. Here, we’ll look at 3 key applications within AbbVie and then see how this extends into a common beer brand!
Nitrogen in API
In API manufacturing nitrogen is used for both product quality and employee safety purposes.
Quality
Chemical reactions often have the requirement to be done in oxygen-free environments to prevent impurity formation due to unwanted oxidation.
Safety
Some solvents used are volatile and pose an explosion risk if oxygen is present, so vessels are inerted with Nitrogen and all oxygen is removed.
Nitrogen in Fermentation
Fermentation is the process of growing a microorganism to turn one substance into another. These microorganisms are living and need nutrients to live! Nitrogen-rich materials such as ammonia, ammonium, and amino acids are added throughout the fermentation to promote growth of the microorganism. Depending on the microorganism, different nitrogen sources will be more effective than others.
Nitrogen in Filling
Vial filling processes are done in sterile environments. However, this sterility requirement doesn’t just apply to outside of the drug product vial, but also within the vial. Similar to how vessels are inerted with nitrogen for API manufacturing, these vials are filled with a head of Nitrogen to maintain an oxygen free environment.
This is done by having nitrogen blown into the vial before capping.
Nitrogen in Guinness
One of the most popular Irish beer brewers out there is Guinness. They are known for including Nitrogen in their beer during packaging as opposed to just the commonly used carbon dioxide. This has a couple benefits:
Guinness is known for its bubbles and thick, velvety head. This is due to how nitrogen bubbles interact with the beer.
Nitrogen bubbles help smooth the texture leaving you with the creamy mouthfeel Guinness is known for!
