Extraction and purification of C-phycocyanin from Spirulina platensis (CCC540)

Abstract

In this study a simple protocol was developed for purifying phycocyanin (PC) from <i>Spirulina platensis</i> (CCC540) by using ammonium sulphate precipitation, followed by a single step chromatography by using DEAE-Cellulose-11 and acetate buffer. Precipitation with 65 % ammonium sulphate resulted in 80 % recovery of phycocyanin with purity of 1.5 (A₆₂₀/A₂₈₀). Thro1ugh chromatography an 80 % recovery of phycocyanin with a purity of 4.5 (A₆₂₀/A₂₈₀) was achieved. In SDS_PAGE analysis, the purified PC showed the presence of two subunit α (16 kD) and β (17 kD).