New method for efficient separation and purification of C-phycocyanin

An efficient method was developed for the purification of C-phycocyanin(C-PC),which involved three steps:chitosan affinity precipitation,activated charcoal Absorption and DEAE Sephadex A-25 chromatography.As compared with conventional methods,this method was cheap,time-saving and easy to operate.The purity(A620/A280)of C-phycocyanin obtained after chitosan-activated charcoal treatment was increased from 0.93 to 2.78,which could be improved to 4.3 after being subjected to DEAE Sephadex A-25 chromatography.Analyzed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis,phycocyanin migrated as two bands corresponding to its two subunits(α and β)and the molecular weights were 16.5ku and 17.6ku,respectively.The Absorption spectra and fluorescence emission specra of purified protein showed peaks at 620nm and 643nm,respectively,which was characteristic of C-phycocyanin.