Obtención y purificación de Ficocianinas mediante cromotagrofía de adsorción en lecho expandidoescalado del proceso, caracterización fisicoquímica y aplicación como colorantes naturales

Abstract

In this Thesis a large and scaleable method for purification of phycocyanins from cyanobacteria microalgae has been developed. Phycocyanins are extracted from the cells by osmotic shock and separated by expanded bed adsorption chromatography (EBAC) using Streamline-DEAE as adsorbent. The eluted phycocyanins rich solution is finally purified by packed-bed chromatography using DEAE-cellulose. Both the extraction conditions and the operation of EBAC are optimized. To obtain pure C-PC, conventional ion-exchange chromatography with DEAE-cellulose is utilized. The purification steps are monitored using SDS-PAGE and the purity of recovered phycocyanins is confirmed by absorption and emission spectroscopy and RP-HPLC. Results show that EBAC method is a scalable technology that allows large quantities of phycocyanins to be obtained without product loss, maintaining a high protein recovery while reducing both processing cost and time. So, the potential of phycocyanins as natural colorants is demonstrated using different food and drink commercial products.