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Open AccessArticle
Recovery of β-Carotene from Microalga Dunaliella sp. by HPCCC
by
Daniela Bárcenas-Pérez
Daniela Bárcenas-Pérez
,
Diana Gomes
Diana Gomes
Celina Parreira
Celina Parreira
Luís Costa
Luís Costa
My academic studies have a foundation in Biological Engineering, which focused into catalysis with I [...]
My academic studies have a foundation in Biological Engineering, which focused into catalysis with enzymes and zeolites at the end. Further, this became the topic of my Chemical Engineering Ph.D.
In 2009, I started working at A4F – Algae for future, a Portuguese SME founded in 2007, dealing with microalgae biotechnology. My professional experience and growth runs parallel to the company’s
history. As a trainee performing daily routine lab and pilot unit operation, I evolved to becoming R&D Project Manager and also Project Engineering Manager in the implementation of industrial scale microalgae production facilities in 2011. In 2015, I took on the role of Chief Operations Officer at A4F, coordinating teams involved in the areas of R&D, Engineering, and Business Development. In 2020, I was appointed Executive Board Member for the areas of Operations and Business Development at A4F, while also taking on a role as Board Member of Biotrend (bioprocess company within the A4F Group). In 2024, I was appointed Chief Scientific and Sustainability Officer of the A4F Group.
I am also an active member of sectorial organizations such as the EABA—European Algae Biomass Association (member of the Steering Board since 2018) and BIC—Bio-based Industries Consortium.
José Cheel
José Cheel
1
Laboratory of Algal Biotechnology—Centre ALGATECH, Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Opatovický Mlýn, 379 81 Třeboň, Czech Republic
2
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
3
A4F—Algae for Future, Campus do Lumiar, Estrada do Paço do Lumiar, Edif. E, R/C, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Processes 2025, 13(6), 1812; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061812 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 30 April 2025
/
Revised: 30 May 2025
/
Accepted: 4 June 2025
/
Published: 7 June 2025
Abstract
β-carotene, a high-value carotenoid widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries, is naturally synthesized by the microalga Dunaliella sp. However, the efficient extraction and purification of β-carotene from microalgae biomass remain a technical challenge. This study presents the development of a scalable and efficient isolation method employing high-performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC) to recover β-carotene from Dunaliella sp. The separation process was optimized by integrating two elution strategies (reverse phase and extrusion) using a biphasic solvent system of n-heptane and methanol (1:1, v/v). The upper phase served as the stationary phase, while the lower phase was used as the mobile phase. Two consecutive injections of 800 mg of microalgal extract each resulted in the isolation of 225.4 mg of β-carotene with a purity of 97% and a recovery of 98%. The developed HPCCC approach represents an efficient method for β-carotene purification and serves as a promising model for future scale-up in microalgae-based production platforms.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bárcenas-Pérez, D.; Gomes, D.; Parreira, C.; Costa, L.; Cheel, J.
Recovery of β-Carotene from Microalga Dunaliella sp. by HPCCC. Processes 2025, 13, 1812.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061812
AMA Style
Bárcenas-Pérez D, Gomes D, Parreira C, Costa L, Cheel J.
Recovery of β-Carotene from Microalga Dunaliella sp. by HPCCC. Processes. 2025; 13(6):1812.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061812
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bárcenas-Pérez, Daniela, Diana Gomes, Celina Parreira, Luís Costa, and José Cheel.
2025. "Recovery of β-Carotene from Microalga Dunaliella sp. by HPCCC" Processes 13, no. 6: 1812.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061812
APA Style
Bárcenas-Pérez, D., Gomes, D., Parreira, C., Costa, L., & Cheel, J.
(2025). Recovery of β-Carotene from Microalga Dunaliella sp. by HPCCC. Processes, 13(6), 1812.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13061812
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