title: Single-Step Purification of Ovalbumin from Egg White Using Aqueous Biphasic Systems.
abstract: The ability of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of polyethylene glycols of different molecular weights (PEG 400, 600 and 1000) and buffered aqueous solutions of potassium citrate/citric acid (pH = 5.0 - 8.0) to selectively extract ovalbumin from egg white was here investigated. Phase diagrams, tie-lines and tie-line lengths were determined at 25ºC and the partitioning of ovalbumin in these systems was then evaluated. Aiming at optimizing the selective extraction of ovalbumin in the studied ABS, factors such as pH, PEG molecular weight and amount of the phase-forming components were initially investigated with pure commercial ovalbumin. In almost all ABS, it was observed a preferential partitioning of ovalbumin to the polymer-rich phase, with extraction efficiencies higher than 90%. The best ABS were then applied in the purification of ovalbumin from the real egg white matrix. In order to ascertain on the ovalbumin purity and yield, sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) analyses were conducted, confirming that the isolation/purification of ovalbumin from egg white was completely achieved in a single-step with a recovery yield of 65%. The results obtained show that polymer-salt-based ABS allow the selective extraction of ovalbumin from egg white with a simpler approach and better performance than previously reported. Finally, it is shown that ovalbumin can be completely recovered from the PEG-rich phase by an induced precipitation using an inexpensive and sustainable separation platform which can be easily applied on an industrial scale.
authors.affiliation: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Matheus M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rafaela A P
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mafalda R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Processos, Universidade Tiradentes, Farolândia, CEP 49032-490 Aracaju, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Álvaro S
authors.initials: ÁS
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: João A P
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.affiliation: CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mara G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Freire
keywords: Aqueous Two Phase; Downstream Processing; Egg White; Ovalbumin; Protein Recovery; Separation