Enhancing the extraction of C-phycocyanin and water-soluble metabolites from Arthrospira platensis using pulsed electric field technology

Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) technique has emerged as a promising approach to extract molecules of interest from different biological material. The present study aimed at optimizing the extraction of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) and other water-soluble biomolecules from Arthrospira platensis cyanobacterium by adjusting PEF process parameters. At a field strength of 5 kV/cm, specific energies comprised between 2.1 and 41.1 MJ/kg_DW were applied to the PEF treatment chamber containing an aqueous solution with 1.11 g_DW/kg_SUS of A. platensis. Experimental results showed that extraction efficiency including C-PC yield and quality are strongly influenced by PEF specific energy. The application of 20.5 MJ/kg_DW generated a C-PC yield of 84 mg_C-PC/g_DW with purity of 0.52 (A₆₂₀/A₂₈₀) and selectivity of 3.10 (A₆₂₀/A₆₈₀), whereas only 56 % of the cells were disintegrated. Higher specific energies of 30.8 MJ/kg_DW improved the disruption of A. platensis cells (85 %) and the C-PC extraction yield (115 mg_C-PC/g_DW) but at the expense of extracts quality. This study highlights the importance of finding a compromise between PEF energy requirements and extraction performances, which can have significant impact on the overall economic viability of A. platensis downstream processes.