Study on the Extraction and Back Extraction of Bovine Serum Albumin using Reversed Micelles

Selective extraction of lactoferrin from acidic whey using CTAB/n-heptanol reverse micellar system

A reverse micellar system comprising CTAB/n-heptanol, developed for extracting lactoferrin (LF) from a synthetic solution of LF, was investigated for the selective extraction of LF from synthetic whey protein solution, which was prepared by mixing the pure whey proteins. The process conditions obtained during the process was further extended to extract the LF from real acidic whey. The selective extraction of LF was improved by studying the effect of NaCl concentration (additive) and aqueous phase pH on the partitioning of LF into the micellar phase. The highest extraction of LF (98.7%) from acidic whey to micellar phase was achieved at the aqueous phase pH of 10.3 and NaCl concentration of 1.1 M. The LF was back extracted to the aqueous stripping phase with 94% extraction efficiency and 100% purity. The recycling capacity of the organic phase after the back extraction of LF was analyzed to make the process more economical.

Reverse micellar extraction of lactoferrin from its synthetic solution using CTAB/n-heptanol system

The partitioning of Lactoferrin (LF) into the reverse micellar phase formed by a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in n-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 n-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.