Phycobiliprotein

Phycobiliprotein (PBP) is a water-soluble, brightly colored, highly fluorescent protein-pigment component of the photosynthetic light-harvesting antenna complex, usually found in cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), red algae, cryptophytes, etc. PBPs are high-value natural products with actual or potential biotechnological applications in nutraceuticals pharmaceuticals and biomedical research. Given the potential toxicity and carcinogenicity of synthetic food colorants, PBPs have received increasing attention as a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic natural food colorant. PBP has been proven to have antioxidant, antiviral, anti-tumor, immunity-enhancing, and anti-inflammatory effects. It is also widely used as a fluorescent labeling probe or photosensitizer to facilitate anti-tumor research.

According to spectral characteristics, PBP can be divided into phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC), allophycocyanin (APC), and phycoerythrocyanin (PEC).

Phycocyanin (PC)

PC has been proven to be the main PBP in many cyanobacteria. After being extracted from cyanobacteria, PC can be widely used in the food, cosmetics industry, and biomedical fields as a natural blue dye, immunodiagnosis, and analytical reagent. PC is photostable and its fluorescence emission is not easily quenched, so it is considered a more effective fluorescent probe than other organic fluorophores, especially when high sensitivity or multicolor detection is required. In addition, PC has a variety of pharmacological and physiological activities, such as protecting the liver and nerves, participating in immune regulation, and functioning as a free radical scavenger.

Phycoerythrin (PE)

As valuable fluorescent labels, PE and APC have extensive applications in flow cytometry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, histochemistry, immunoassays, and reactive oxygen species detection.

Applications of Our Products

• Fluorescence-activated cell sorting
• Flow cytometry fluorescence assay
• Fluorescence immunoassay
• Single-molecule detection
• Food, cosmetics, and dye industry

CD BioSciences is a cutting-edge company with rich marine biological resources and a specialized technology platform dedicated to providing a wide range of phycocyanin proteins from seaweeds to customers in the food, cosmetic, and biopharmaceutical fields. If you are interested in our products, please contact us.

Reference

• Li W, Su H N, Pu Y, et al. (2019). Phycobiliproteins: Molecular structure, production, applications, and prospects[J]. Biotechnology Advances. 37(2): 340-353.

Please kindly note that our products can only be used to support research purposes (Not for clinical use).