Recovery of C-Phycocyanin in the Presence of Cells Using Expanded Bed IEC

C-Phycocyanin is a natural blue dye that can be extracted from Spirulina platensis. In this paper, a crude extract of C-phycocyanin in the presence of cells was purified using ion exchange chromatography in an expanded bed. The elution was studied aiming at its optimization using a central composite rotatable design (CCRD), the independent variables being the pH and elution volume, and the responses purity, concentration, yield and recovery. An evaluation of the contour curves showed that the best conditions for purification were a pH value of 6.5 and elution volume of about 150 mL. A run was carried out under these conditions, combining a saline gradient (0-1 M) with step elution using 0.1 M NaCl. Under these conditions, it was possible to obtain C-phycocyanin with a purity increment of 4.6-fold compared with the initial extract working directly with unclarified extract.