Abstract C-phycocyanin is a potential nutraceutical/pharmaceutical candidate with functionalities that are better documented than those of health foods in general. Studies have demonstrated that C-phycocyanin has antioxidant and antitumor properties and potential activities against other diseases. However, its large-scale purification remains problematic and expensive. The aim of this work was to establish the best process for obtaining C-phycocyanin of different purities for different applications. The first step of this study was the maximization of the ultrafiltration process. Under the best ultrafiltration conditions, we evaluated the application of ultrafiltration, precipitation, and ion exchange chromatography (expanded and fixed beds) in different sequences and their effects on C-phycocyanin recovery and purification. It was possible to obtain C-phycocyanin that could be used as food dye with purity of 0.95 employing only diafiltration/ultrafiltration. With different process configurations, we obtained extracts that could be used as cosmetic dye with purity of 2.1 and biomarkers with purity of 3.0, and for therapeutic and biomedicine applications with an analytical grade (purity > 4.0).

Abstract Biotechnological production of carotenoids can be affected by cultivation conditions, such as temperature, pH and agitation. The aim of this study was to maximize carotenoid production by Sporidiobolus pararoseus in shake flasks with agroindustrial by-products as substrates. The best conditions were used in a stirred tank fermenter. The medium consisted of corn steep liquor and sugar cane molasses pretreated with sulfuric acid. In order to evaluate the effects of the variables, a central composite rotatable design was used. The highest values of total carotenoids (565 µg L-1), biomass (13.6 g L-1) and Yp/s (10.9 µg g-1) were obtained in Assay 13 at 27.5ºC, 150 rpm and pH=4, in Erlenmeyer flasks. For the best conditions defined for carotenoid productivity and 1.2 vvm in the stirred tank fermenter, the maximum value was 1969.3 µg L-1 of total carotenoids. It was 3.5-fold higher than the value obtained when shake flasks were used.