Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis as a natural photosensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cell

Orona-Navar, A.; Aguilar-Hernández, Iris; Cerdán‐Pasarán, Andrea; López–Luke, Tzarara; Rodríguez-Delgado, Melissa Marlene; Cárdenas‐Chávez, Diana L.; Cepeda-Pérez, Elisa; Ornelas‐Soto, Nancy

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2017.06.027

Cited by 32 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Trout and salmon samples are well known to contain high levels of the carotenoid astaxanthin, as this carotenoid is responsible for the characteristic pigment found in their flesh [ 27 ]. The four bands observed at 1004, 1160, 1192 and 1520 cm −1 are in good agreement with bands reported for astaxanthin in the literature [ 28 ]. According to the spectral references for this compound, the two major bands in terms of intensity appear at 1160 and 1520 cm −1 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Detection of Biomarkers Relating to Quality and Differentiation of Some Commercially Significant Whole Fish Using Spatially Off-Set Raman Spectroscopy

2020

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Aquaculture represents a major part of the world’s food supply. This area of food production is developing rapidly, and as such the tools and analytical techniques used to monitor and assess the quality of fish need to also develop and improve. The use of spatially off-set Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is particularly well-suited for these applications, given the ability of this technique to take subsurface measurements as well as being rapid, non-destructive and label-free compared to classical chemical analysis techniques. To explore this technique for analysing fish, SORS measurements were taken on commercially significant whole fish through the skin in different locations. The resulting spectra were of high quality with subsurface components such as lipids, carotenoids, proteins and guanine from iridophore cells clearly visible in the spectra. These spectral features were characterised and major bands identified. Chemometric analysis additionally showed that clear differences are present in spectra not only from different sections of a fish but also between different species. These results highlight the potential application for SORS analysis for rapid quality assessment and species identification in the aquaculture industry by taking through-skin measurements.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Detection of Biomarkers Relating to Quality and Differentiation of Some Commercially Significant Whole Fish Using Spatially Off-Set Raman Spectroscopy

2020

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“…These pigments have naturally evolved over thousands of years to efficiently harness solar energy. Natural pigments such as betalains [14][15][16][17], chlorophylls [18,19], anthocyanins [20,21] and carotene [22] have been investigated as photo-sensitizers for solar cell applications. However, the main drawbacks of this type of solar cells are their low efficiencies and short lifespan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the main drawbacks of this type of solar cells are their low efficiencies and short lifespan. So far, maximum efficiencies of 1.5-2%, and average efficiencies of ~ 0.4% have been achieved by solar cells using natural photo-sensitizers [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Achieving higher efficiencies and improving stability would make natural pigment-sensitized solar cells an attractive alternative technology for portable or disposable electronic applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-sensitization aided efficiency enhancement in betanin–chlorophyll solar cell

Pesala

2018

Mater Renew Sustain Energy

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Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a promising third-generation photovoltaic cell technology whose advantages are low-cost fabrication, reduced energy payback time, better performance under diffuse light conditions and flexibility. Typically DSSCs employ toxic dyes such as metal-based porphyrins requiring complex synthesis. In contrast, natural pigments are environmentally and economically superior to synthetic dyes. However, narrow absorption spectra of natural pigments result in low efficiencies of the solar cells. Hence, co-sensitizing pigments with complementary absorption spectra, which increases the absorption band, is an attractive pathway to enhance the efficiency. In this paper, we report the performance of betanin-chlorophyll co-sensitized solar cell using betanin (λ max = 535 nm) and chlorophyll-a (λ max = 435 nm, 668 nm), natural pigments having complementary absorption spectra. Density functional theory simulations were performed to verify that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and the highest occupied molecular orbital levels of the dye molecules, are aligned appropriately with that of TiO 2 and the redox electrolyte, respectively, which is necessary for optimal device performance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies were performed to determine parameters corresponding to the charge transfer processes in the dye solar cells. Individual and co-sensitized solar cells were fabricated and the co-sensitized solar cell demonstrated a higher efficiency of 0.601% compared to efficiencies of 0.562% and 0.047% shown by betanin and chlorophyll solar cells, respectively.

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“…In the case of H. pluvialis, cells are relatively small (10-60 µm in diameter), its cellular concentration only reaches about 0.5% dry weight, the densities of the cultivation medium and the microalgae cells are similar and are negatively charged, which results in a stable dispersed state of the algal suspension that makes sedimentation challenging (Panis and Carreon, 2016;Liu et al, 2017). On the other hand, Orona-Navar et al (2017) reported that H. pluvialis synthesizes an increased number of polysaccharides and carbohydrates during the aplanospore phase (accumulation of N-ASX), which results in the formation of aggregates and rapid sedimentation. Furthermore, the N-ASX accumulation resulted in a growth in cell size and increasing the settling velocity of H. pluvialis (Baroni et al, 2019).…”

Section: Cell Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of Downstream Processing of Natural Astaxanthin for Pharmaceutical Application

et al. 2021

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Astaxanthin (ASX) is a xanthophyll pigment considered as a nutraceutical with high antioxidant activity. Several clinical trials have shown the multiple health benefits of this molecule; therefore, it has various pharmaceutical industry applications. Commercial astaxanthin can be produced by chemical synthesis or through biosynthesis within different microorganisms. The molecule produced by the microorganisms is highly preferred due to its zero toxicity and superior therapeutic properties. However, the biotechnological production of the xanthophyll is not competitive against the chemical synthesis, since the downstream process may represent 70–80% of the process production cost. These operations denote then an opportunity to optimize the process and make this alternative more competitive. Since ASX is produced intracellularly by the microorganisms, high investment and high operational costs, like centrifugation and bead milling or high-pressure homogenization, are mainly used. In cell recovery, flocculation and flotation may represent low energy demanding techniques, whereas, after cell disruption, an efficient extraction technique is necessary to extract the highest percentage of ASX produced by the cell. Solvent extraction is the traditional method, but large-scale ASX production has adopted supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2), an efficient and environmentally friendly technology. On the other hand, assisted technologies are extensively reported since the cell disruption, and ASX extraction can be carried out in a single step. Because a high-purity product is required in pharmaceuticals and nutraceutical applications, the use of chromatography is necessary for the downstream process. Traditionally liquid-solid chromatography techniques are applied; however, the recent emergence of liquid-liquid chromatography like high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) coupled with liquid-solid chromatography allows high productivity and purity up to 99% of ASX. Additionally, the use of SC-CO2, coupled with two-dimensional chromatography, is very promising. Finally, the purified ASX needs to be formulated to ensure its stability and bioavailability; thus, encapsulation is widely employed. In this review, we focus on the processes of cell recovery, cell disruption, drying, extraction, purification, and formulation of ASX mainly produced in Haematococcus pluvialis, Phaffia rhodozyma, and Paracoccus carotinifaciens. We discuss the current technologies that are being developed to make downstream operations more efficient and competitive in the biotechnological production process of this carotenoid.

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Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis as a natural photosensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cell

Cited by 32 publications

References 68 publications

Detection of Biomarkers Relating to Quality and Differentiation of Some Commercially Significant Whole Fish Using Spatially Off-Set Raman Spectroscopy

Detection of Biomarkers Relating to Quality and Differentiation of Some Commercially Significant Whole Fish Using Spatially Off-Set Raman Spectroscopy

Co-sensitization aided efficiency enhancement in betanin–chlorophyll solar cell

Importance of Downstream Processing of Natural Astaxanthin for Pharmaceutical Application

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