Purification and characterization of phycocyanobilin

Abstract

Phycocyanobilin is a prosthetic group of phycobiliproteins named C-phycocyanin and allophycocyanin, which are located in blue-green alga. Purification of PCB implies protein extraction, thioeter bond rupture and extraction in organic solvent followed by separation on chromatographic system. Characterization of PCB is accomplished through chromatographic analysis, spectroscopic techniques and antioxidant capacity determinations. In this review, we present different strategies for PCB purification as well as many methods used for pigment characterization. Also, we propose some procedures to obtain this molecule from cellular as starting material to produce PCB in enough quantity to evaluate its biological potential in biopharmaceutical industry.