Method to obtain C-phycocyanin of high purity

A new approach is made for the purification of C-phycocyanin (C-PC), which is simple and more efficient than existing methods. The proposed method involves two steps: aqueous two phase extraction and ion-exchange chromatography. Crude extract of C-phycocyanin, of purity 1.18, obtained from Spirulina platensis is subjected to aqueous two phase extraction. C-phycocyanin obtained from this process showed a purity of 5.22, which is higher than the reported value till date. In order to explore the possibility of further purification, C-phycocyanin is subjected to ion-exchange chromatography and found that the purity increased from 5.22 to 6.69. The fluorescence, intactness of structure and purity of C-phycocyanin are confirmed using spectrofluorometry, circular dichroism spectra and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel, respectively.