An Alternative Exploitation of <i>Synechocystis</i> sp. PCC6803: A Cascade Approach for the Recovery of High Added-Value Products

oleh: Paola Imbimbo, Luigi D’Elia, Iolanda Corrado, Gerardo Alvarez-Rivera, Antonio Marzocchella, Elena Ibáñez, Cinzia Pezzella, Filipe Branco dos Santos, Daria Maria Monti

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-03-01

Deskripsi

Microalgal biomass represents a very interesting biological feedstock to be converted into several high-value products in a biorefinery approach. In this study, the cyanobacterium <i>Synechocystis</i> sp. PCC6803 was used to obtain different classes of molecules: proteins, carotenoids and lipids by using a cascade approach. In particular, the protein extract showed a selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells, whereas carotenoids were found to be active as antioxidants both in vitro and on a cell-based model. Finally, for the first time, lipids were recovered from <i>Synechocystis</i> biomass as the last class of molecules and were successfully used as an alternative substrate for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) by the native PHA producer <i>Pseudomonas resinovorans</i>. Taken together, our results lead to a significant increase in the valorization of <i>Synechocystis</i> sp. PCC6803 biomass, thus allowing a possible offsetting of the process costs.