Chitosan as flocculant for concentrating Euglena gracilis cultures

The practical criteria for the usefulness of an algal separation process for laboratory routine being effectiveness and time consumption, we tested the feasibility of a flocculation procedure to harvest large volumes of Euglena gracilis in culture. This procedure turned out to be a technically viable system which avoided tedious centrifugation and preserved E. gracilis flagellar apparatus integrity.

E. gracilis cultures were treated with chitosan, a by-product derived from chitin from the exoskeleton of crustaceans. Since this polymer carries a positive charge, it functions as a polycationic coagulating agent by adsorbing onto particles in suspension and by bridging together into agglomerates, or flocs. A 96–98% reduction of suspended cells in cultures with 200 mg/l of chitosan, at pH 7.5, was obtained.