title: Chitosan as flocculant for concentrating Euglena gracilis cultures.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: C.N.R. Istituto di Biofisica, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gualtieri
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barsanti
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Passarelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002412:Cations; D002614:Chelating Agents; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D048271:Chitosan; D004563:Electrochemistry; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005056:Euglena gracilis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005427:Flocculation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D002614:Chelating Agents; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan