LIQUID-LIQUID-EXTRACTION OF A RECOMBINANT CUTINASE FROM FERMENTATION MEDIA WITH AOT REVERSED MICELLES

This work reports the extraction and back-extraction of an intracellul ar recombinant cutinase from complex biological media using AOT revers ed micelles in isooctane. Cutinase was recovered from different comple x media namely, fermentation broths and supernatants after cell disrup tion by osmotic shock and sonication. The application of the AOT rever sed micellar system to the extraction of cutinase allowed activity yie lds and purification factors ranging from about 5% to 50% and 1.2 to 1 0.2, respectively, depending on the biological medium.