Chlorophyll-a Extraction from Intact Chlorella Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for preparing chlorin e6 are laborious, complex, and use toxic and inflammable reagents, making them unsuitable for the pharmaceutical and food industries, with low reproducibility and inefficiency in chlorophyll-a extraction.
Innovation Solution
A method using undisrupted intact chlorella cells treated with organic solvents like ethanol to extract chlorophyll-a, followed by acid and base treatments to produce chlorin e6, optimizing the extraction and purification process for higher yield and purity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional methods are used to extract and purify chlorophyll-a, then purification can be achieved, but the process becomes laborious and complex requiring high vacuum, crystallization, column chromatography and HPLC
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the necessary components (chlorophyll-a and chlorin e6) from the biomass using simple solvent extraction and filtration, eliminating the need for complex purification equipment like HPLC and column chromatography. The extraction process directly yields purified products through selective solubility in different solvents.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the solvent parameters (using ethanol instead of acetone, adjusting solvent ratios) to achieve selective extraction and precipitation of chlorophyll-a and chlorin e6. By controlling solvent composition and pH, the method simplifies purification without requiring complex equipment.
2Reliability
If conventional reagents are used for extraction and reaction, then chemical transformations can be achieved, but toxic and inflammable reagents are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces expensive and hazardous reagents (diazomethane, pyridine, tetrahydrofuran) with safer, more readily available solvents like ethanol and water. These simpler solvents achieve the same chemical transformations without the toxic and flammability issues of conventional reagents.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potentially harmful acid treatment step into a beneficial process by using controlled acidification to precipitate pheophytin-a, which is then easily separated. The acid step that could cause degradation is instead used productively to facilitate purification.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional extraction methods are used, then chlorophyll-a can be extracted, but the extraction efficiency is low and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary treatment of biomass by drying and grinding to increase surface area and accessibility of chlorophyll-a to solvents. This preliminary preparation significantly enhances extraction efficiency and yield compared to direct extraction from fresh biomass.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention optimizes extraction parameters including solvent composition (ethanol-water mixtures), temperature, and extraction time to maximize chlorophyll-a yield. By adjusting these parameters, the method achieves higher extraction efficiency and productivity than conventional single-solvent extraction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves high yield and purity of chlorophyll-a and chlorin e6 with simpler procedures, avoiding oxidation and using safer solvents, making it suitable for mass production and compliance with industry standards.
Implementation Method 1
treating an undisrupted intact chlorella with an organic solvent to extract chlorophyll-a from the chlorella
Implementation Method 2
treating the chlorophyll-a with an acid to remove a magnesium ion from the chlorophyll-a
Implementation Method 3
treating the pheophytin a with a base in the presence of oxygen to produce chlorin e6
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for preparing chlorophyll-a and chlorin e6. This invention extracts chlorophyll-a by use of undisrupted chlorella cells themselves, thereby preparing chlorin e6 from the chlorophyll-a extract. The high contents of chlorophyll-a may be obtained by the pretreatment procedure of chlorella cells themselves selected in this invention. The present method is performed according to relatively simple procedures, and is suitable in the mass production of chlorin e6.