Investigation of the phycocyanin production potential of different strains of cyanobacteria isolated from various environments

The master thesis investigates the isolate with the highest C-phycocyanin yield was determined from seven cyanobacteria isolates that were previously isolated and identified from various ecological environments. The studies of optimization for C- phycocyanin production were carried out and the obtained phycocyanin was purified and characterized. To determine its biological activity, the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer effects of the extract were investigated in vitro. With the optimization studies for the extraction method, the best yield was obtained with the thermophilic Geitlerinema sp. isolate. The obtained C-phycocyanin pigment showed antimicrobial activity on bacteria and yeasts with a lower inhibition zone compared to standard antibiotics. Its antioxidant activity by performing the DPPH• test resulted in an IC50 of 0.57±0.01 mg/mL, which is relatively low compared to ascorbic acid (0.24±0.08 mg/mL). The anticancer activity was determined using the MTT assay on lung cell lines (A549, CCD-19Lu) and pancreatic cell lines (Panc-1, hTERT-HPNE). It was observed that the calculated IC50 values of the compound for the CCD-19Lu normal cell line were lower than the A549 lung cancer cell line. C-phycocyanin was found to have more potent and significant anticancer activity for pancreatic cells at low concentrations within 72 hours and the selected compounds showed a favorable safety profile considering the cell viability results.