C-Phycocyanin Purification: Multiple Processes for Different Applications

Abstract

C-phycocyanin is a potential nutraceutical/pharmaceutical candidate with functionalities that are better documented than those of health foods in general. Studies have demonstrated that C-phycocyanin has antioxidant and antitumor properties and potential activities against other diseases. However, its large-scale purification remains problematic and expensive. The aim of this work was to establish the best process for obtaining C-phycocyanin of different purities for different applications. The first step of this study was the maximization of the ultrafiltration process. Under the best ultrafiltration conditions, we evaluated the application of ultrafiltration, precipitation, and ion exchange chromatography (expanded and fixed beds) in different sequences and their effects on C-phycocyanin recovery and purification. It was possible to obtain C-phycocyanin that could be used as food dye with purity of 0.95 employing only diafiltration/ultrafiltration. With different process configurations, we obtained extracts that could be used as cosmetic dye with purity of 2.1 and biomarkers with purity of 3.0, and for therapeutic and biomedicine applications with an analytical grade (purity > 4.0).

Demonstration of protein capture and separation using three‐dimensional printed anion exchange monoliths fabricated in one‐step

“…This demonstrates that EBA provides the same purification power as a packed bed column, independent of the presence of cell debris in the applied sample. The same trend was demonstrated for DEAE functionalized chromatography beads, achieving a purification factor of 4.6 for a clarified CPC sample [42] and 4.8 for a crude CPC sample [33]. The purification factors for the 3D printed monoliths are in agreement with the reported values of commercial materials, and are independent of the initial sample purity ( Table 2).…”

“…Many procedures for the purification of CPC have been described in the literature, most relying on a combination of multiple purification steps, usually including ammonium precipitation, dialysis, and packed bed AEX chromatography to achieve CPC purities of up to 6.7 [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. The AEX chromatography step alone in packed bed mode provides a purification factor ranging from 1.3 to 4.9.…”

“…The AEX chromatography step alone in packed bed mode provides a purification factor ranging from 1.3 to 4.9. Reported single step CPC purification procedures from crude feedstocks are generally based on expanded bed adsorption (EBA) chromatography [32,33,38,39] or membrane chromatography [40]. Among these, EBA operates by fluidizing the chromatographic particles thanks to an impinging upward flow of the mobile phase, thus creating large pore space for the unhindered flow of the solid-laden feed.…”

A novel two-phase bioprocess for the production of Arthrospira (Spirulina) maxima LJGR1 at pilot plant scale during different seasons and for phycocyanin induction under controlled conditions

“…It is important to notice that although several techniques have been optimized to purify PC from Arthrospira (Spirulina), only few works have used membrane separation processes. Membrane separation has several characteristics that ensures minimum denaturation, deactivation, and/or degradation of highly labile biological products (Figueira et al, 2018). A potential biorefinery based on A. maxima LJGR1 could, therefore, be developed through innovative and costefficient processes using biomass to produce different bio-based products.…”

Differential spectroscopic analysis of size‐dependent phycobilisome from Spirulina maxima

“…However, C-Pc naturally exists with APC, PE, and linker polypeptides in a complex form called phycobilisome [1,8]. Hence, in many cases, various extraction or purification for purifying C-Pc can result in a phycobilisome product of various sizes, depending on the components in the complex [9]. Therefore, it is important to understand structure and compositions of the size-dependent phycobilisome for its applications.…”