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Partition of Tea Saponin with a Novel Recyclable Thermo-pH Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

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Abstract

Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) have the advantages of environmentally friendly, high mass transfer efficiency, and mild extraction conditions. However, it is difficult to recycle these polymers, which limits the large-scale application of ATPS. In this study, a novel recyclable ATPS was constructed with thermo-responsive polymer PN and pH-responsive polymer PADB4.78 for the partition of tea saponin. PN represents poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide), and PADB4.78 represents poly-(acrylic acid-dimethylamine ethyl methacrylate-butyl methacrylate), where 4.78 in the subscript indicate the isoelectric point of the polymer. The recoveries of PN and PADB4.78 were 95.36% and 93.48%, respectively, after two cycles. Meanwhile, the phase formation mechanism of ATPS was studied by surface tension and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). The effects of polymer concentration, pH, temperature, types and concentrations of salt were investigated on tea saponin partition. In the 1.5% (w/v) PN/3.5% (w/v) PADB4.78 ATPS, the optimal partition coefficient (K) of crude tea saponin were 0.15 in the presence of 1.5 mM KCl at pH 7.6 and 25 °C while the extraction recovery (ERb) reached 92.13%. The K and ERb of tea saponin from tea seeds were 0.12 and 94.50% with 7.5 mM LiBr at pH 8.0 and 25 °C, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, College of Bioengineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Yanli Wei, Xi Chen, Ting Yang, Junfen Wan & Xuejun Cao

Authors
  1. Yanli Wei
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  2. Xi Chen
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  3. Ting Yang
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  4. Junfen Wan
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  5. Xuejun Cao
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Contributions

Yanli Wei carried on the data collection and wrote the manuscript. Xi Chen carried on the data collection. Ting Yang conducted the data analysis. Junfen Wan conducted the data analysis, writing and revision of the manuscript. Xuejun Cao conducted the data analysis, writing and revision of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Junfen Wan or Xuejun Cao.

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Wei, Y., Chen, X., Yang, T. et al. Partition of Tea Saponin with a Novel Recyclable Thermo-pH Aqueous Two-Phase Systems. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 193, 3062–3078 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-021-03583-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-021-03583-z

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