S-STEM Scholar Leilani Boren's Blog

Introduction:      Spirulina plantesis  has been so far evaluated for methods of extraction of phycocyanin in terms of solvent used, lysing protocol, and materials involved. From previous DOE experiments, it was determined that water was comparable to phosphate buffer, beads optimal for minimal volumes, and blending and ultrasonic bath very similar to just utilizing an ultrasonic bath alone. Now that a basic protocol of crude extraction has been determined, the next step is purification of this crude extract for maximum purity, concentration, and total yield. Charcoal has been found to be beneficial for purification, in various methods, with even higher purity levels achieved with the addition of chitosan as well. It has been shown that a crude extract of 1.18 purity can achieve a level of 2.56 after purification with charcoal, and 3.96 with the use of chitosan and charcoal. Charcoal is used in amounts of 70-80 g/L (Patil et al., 2006). Chitosan is a water insoluble ...

Introduction:  In previous weeks, there have been varied results between multiple methods of phycocyanin extraction from dried Spirulina plantesis. Last week, it was decided to begin a three factor DOE experiment in order to determine which factors are the most significant in the extraction process. The three factors in question were the presence of glass beads as opposed to none, the use of a blender in addition to the ultrasonic bath versus only utilizing the ultrasonic bath, and phosphate buffer rather than deionized water. These factors, A, B, and C, were tested in eight runs and two trials.  Methods: Tubes 5A through 8B were centrifuged at 9500 RPM for 30 minutes at 4 degrees Celsius and their supernatant extracted and put into new tubes. All of the tubes were then centrifuged at 6500 RPM for fifteen minutes, to complete their second round of centrifugation. The supernatant was extracted from each tube and tested for absorbance values at 620 nm, 280 nm, and 652 nm using a...

 Introduction In previous labs, we have successfully extracted enough phycocyanin from Spirulina plantesis within a liquid solution to meet our goal of one milligram of total product, but are still unsure as to which method is the most effective to attain the highest purity and concentration levels of C-PC possible. Prior methods included both deionized water and phosphate buffer, glass beads, no glass beads, and the ultrasonic bath as well as the blender.  To determine which factors are the most effective, we conducted a three factor DOE experiment, consisting of two trials, in which the factors would be phosphate buffer versus deionized water, the addition of glass beads versus none, and a combination of the blender and ultrasonic bath as opposed to the ultrasonic bath alone. Our hypothesis was that phosphate buffer, glass beads, and the blender/ultrasonic bath would significantly improve C-PC purity and concentration values.  Methods Fifty ml tubes were used for three ...