Suarez Ruiz CA, Emmery DP, Wijffels RH, Eppink MHM, van den Berg C. Selective and mild fractionation of microalgal proteins and pigments using aqueous two-phase systems.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY (OXFORD, OXFORDSHIRE : 1986) 2018;
93:2774-2783. [PMID:
30147214 PMCID:
PMC6099415 DOI:
10.1002/jctb.5711]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Revised: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Microalgal biomass is generally used to produce a single product instead of valorizing all of the cellular components. The biomass production and downstream processes are too expensive if only one product is valorized. A new approach was proposed for the simultaneous and selective partitioning of pigments and proteins from disrupted Neochloris oleoabundans cultivated under saline and freshwater conditions.
RESULTS
An aqueous two-phase system composed of polyethylene glycol and cholinium dihydrogen phosphate selectively separated microalgal pigments from microalgal proteins. 97.3 ± 1.0% of lutein and 51.6 ± 2.3% of chlorophyll were recovered in the polymer-rich phase. Simultaneously, up to 92.2 ± 2.0% of proteins were recovered in a third phase (interface) in between the aqueous phases (interface). The recovered proteins, including Rubisco with a molecular weight of ∼560 kDa, seem to be intact and pigments did not suffer degradation, demonstrating the mildness of this system for fractionating microalgal biomolecules.
CONCLUSION
The ability of aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) to simultaneously and efficiently fractionate different biomolecules in a mild manner from disrupted microalgae is demonstrated. This is an important step towards the development of a multiproduct microalgae biorefinery. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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