Project

DES BLUES: extraction method using deep eutectic solvents

An extraction method using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) will be developed able to extract pharmaceutically interesting molecules. The project aims to determine the best DESs for the extraction of these pharmaceutical molecules. Pre-treatments and purification after DES extraction methods will be studied to design a full process. The full process will be modeled and used for a techno-economic analysis of the process. Pilot scale experiments will then be performed and used to improve the model as well.

Background

Marine invertebrates have been getting attention for their secondary metabolites. These secondary metabolites have been found to have pharmaceutical properties. Advances in marine invertebrate cell cultures are being made, but extraction of these compounds is a field less studied. To make the process sustainable green solvents will be used, specifically deep eutectic solvents (DES). DESs are a type of solvent made up of a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) and a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) which, if mixed in the right molar ratio, give a solvent with a lower melting point then the HBD and HBA would have on their own. These solvents do still need to be tested for their interactions with the cells and products during and after extraction. Furthermore, as biorefinery of marine invertebrate cells is not yet studied the pre-treatments and purification steps after DES extraction are also not yet known. This gives lots of opportunities for this project to perform research to fill these knowledge gaps.

Project description

This project is a collaboration between the animal cell group and the biorefinery group. In the animal cell group a marine invertebrate cell line is being developed, while in the biorefinery the extraction of pharmaceutically interesting molecules is being studied.

The main goal of this project is development of a process to extract pharmaceutically interesting molecules from marine invertebrate cell lines using natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDES). To achieve this goal there are a number of sub goals:

  1. Characterization of the biomass used in the project to determine the present valuable compounds.
  2. Designing the best NaDES and determining the optimal extraction parameters for the molecules of interest.
  3. Determining the optimal pre-treatment methods before NaDES extraction and purification methods after extraction to design a full process.
  4. Studying the interactions between NaDES-cell and NaDES-product and its effects on the extraction and molecule bioactivity.
  5. Valorizing the side streams produced during the process, and recycling the NaDES after extraction.
  6. Modelling the process in Superpro and performing a techno-economic analysis.