The partitioning of Lactoferrin (LF) into the reverse micellar phase formed by a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in -heptanol from the synthetic solution of LF was studied. The solubilization behaviour of LF into the reverse micellar phase and back extraction using a fresh stripping phase were improved by studying the effect of processing parameters, including surfactant concentration, solution pH, electrolyte salt concentration and addition of alcohol as co-solvent. Forward extraction of 100% was achieved at CTAB concentration of 50 mM in-heptanol solvent, pH of 10 and 1 M NaCl. The electrostatic force and hydrophobic interaction have major influence on LF extraction during forward and back extraction respectively. The size of the reverse micelles and their corresponding water content were measured at different operating conditions to assess their role on the LF extraction. The present reverse micellar system has potential to solubilise almost all the LF into the reverse micelles during forward extraction and could able to allow back extraction from the reverse micellar phase with addition of small amount of co-solvent.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.