Poster
Presentation 03:
Extraction of biomolecules from aqueous
media using nonionic surfactants
Bernice Perez, R. Nagarajan,
and W. Curtis
The Pennsylvania State University
158 Fenske Lab
University Park, PA 16802
blp117@psu.edu
(814) 863-7182
Nonionic block copolymer surfactants can be utilized as novel solvents for
the recovery of water-soluble molecules. The hydrophobic-hydrophilic
character of these surfactants provides the means for the extraction of
molecules within a wide range of hydrophobicity. We have chosen
surfactants that have a low hydrophilic character in order to avoid a high
surfactant loss during the phase separation process. The phase separation
process is facilitated by centrifugation at a temperature above the cloud
point temperature of the surfactant solution. One of our model molecules
for this technique is shikonin, a plant-derived compound that is mainly
used as a pigment for food coloring and cosmetics. Shikonin, which is
sparingly soluble in water, is released from plant root cultures into an
aqueous media. The percent of extraction of shikonin from the media using
nonionic surfactants was almost 100%. Stripping extraction with an
alkaline solution is utilized for the recovery of the shikonin derivatives, which can be ionized at high pH values, from
the surfactant phase. Another model molecule is the tracer dye Rhodamine
WT, which is highly soluble in water. The percent of extraction of this
hydrophilic molecule was approximately 98%. These results show that
nonionic surfactants can be used for the extraction of water-soluble
molecules in replacement of environmentally harmful solvents.
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