Cooperative Learning: A Tool For Critical Thinking, Decision Making, And Interpersonal Relationships

Abstract

Due to its biocompatibility, rheological, and physiological qualities, hyaluronic acid (HA) has gained significant attention as a biomaterial with several medical and aesthetic uses. In the last several decades, microbial fermentations have emerged as a significant source for the industrial production of HA. To maintain clinical and cosmetic-grade purity, microbial HA must undergo rigorous and time-consuming purifying procedures owing to its eventual usage. The use of Aqueous Two Phase Systems (ATPS) for the primary recovery of high value biomolecules has been shown to be an effective approach. Nonetheless, their use in HA post-production has been mostly unexplored. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG)–citrate ATPS were employed for the first time in the main recovery of HA generated by a Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus designed strain. With a clarified fermentation broth as the feed material, the effects of PEG molecular weight (MW), tie-line length (TLL), volume ratio (VR), and sample load on HA recovery and purity were examined. HA was recovered from the salt rich bottom phase, and its recovery enhanced when a PEG molecular weight of 8000 g mol^-1 was employed. Lower VR values (0.38), on the other hand, favored HA recovery, while a high VR increased purity (3.50). In the meanwhile, sample weight had a detrimental effect on both recovery and purity. The ATPS with the greatest performance consisted of PEG 8000 g mol^-1, TLL 43% (w/w), and VR 3.50, with a HA recovery of 79.4% and a purity of 74.5%. This work indicated for the first time that PEG–citrate ATPS has the potential to be a successful main recovery technique for the downstream processing of microbial HA.