Bioproduction, purification and physicochemical characterization of melanin from Streptomyces sp. strain MR28

Melanin has been produced and extracted from various microorganisms because of its therapeutic nature and diverse applications in various fields. Hence we isolated actinomycetes from soil which is capable of producing melanin pigment from L-tyrosine and it was identified as Streptomyces sp. strain MR28 on the basis of biochemical, morphological characterization, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Production of melanin pigment was achieved by using standardized tyrosine broth. The melanin pigment was purified, and characterized by using various techniques such as Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), ¹H NMR spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Elemental analysis (EDX), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The pigment exhibit maximum UV-Vis absorption spectrum at 299 nm, FTIR peaks confirm the occurrence of C-H, C-N, C-O, and CC functional groups which are key functional groups in indole/pyrrole structure. TLC analysis showed a single band with a significant Retardation factor (Rf) of 0.68, Resonance peaks at 6.66, 7.18, and 7.28 ppm exhibit aromatic hydrogen in the indole/pyrole system in ¹H NMR. The EDX reports the presence of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur which are key elements in melanin structure, and TGA exhibits the thermal stability of the melanin. Overall, the successful production and extraction of melanin was achieved by using soil actinomycetes Streptomyces sp. strain MR28, and its characterization confirms the nature of the melanin pigment which has significant value in the industrial and biomedical field.