14 The Bioeconomy of Production of Microalgal Pigments
349
products (Ambati et al. 2018). Recently, BlueBioTech, a company from Germany, has
been producing a wide variety of natural, pharmaceutical and dietary supplements
via microalgal extracts, especially using their pigments (Misra et al. 2016).
In recent times, the association of nanotechnology with microalgal products to
enhance their value and properties is the trend in product formulations. The emergence of nanoparticles in the formulation of phycopigments has led to reduced
usage and elevates their value, compared to standalone phycopigments. Recently,
biocompatible nanosized ovalbumin has been functionalized using microalgal phycocyanin proteins as functional groups and these nanoparticles are used to formulate
cefpirome which is a derivative of cephalosporin. The results revealed that complex
nanoformulated cefpirome with microalgal pigment possess potential to inhibit
bacterial pathogens with high biocompatibility, compared to the non-formulated
cefpirome, ovalbumin, and phycocyanin (Namasivayam 2017). Other than nanoformulations, several studies showed ample evidences that the addition of nanoparticles
improves the production of bioactive contents in microalgae, especially bioactive
pigments (Miazek et al. 2015; Lee et al. 2015; Hazeem et al. 2015). Moreover, the
phycopigments along with microalgal bioactive molecules possess ability to synthesize biocompatible nanoparticles that can be utilized for several applications (Patel
et al. 2015). Silver nanoparticles have recently been synthesized using the microalgal
pigments of diatom Amphora sp. as the biogenic synthesis agent and the result showed
that the obtained silver nanoparticles possess enhanced antimicrobial activity against
a wide range of microbes (Jena et al. 2015). Silver, copper, gold and iron oxide
nanoparticles are synthesized using extracts of microalgae with phycopigments in
recent times (Salas-Herrera et al. 2019; Dahoumane et al. 2016; Siddiqi and Husen
2016; Shankar et al. 2016). Sometimes, the nanoparticles also may cause adverse
effect in microalgae and may affect the ecosystem dynamics, if nanoparticles are
exposed directly to the growth site of microalgae (Amanda et al. 2017). Nanoformulation of phycopigments into liposomes, micelles, polymers, dendrimers, and
biocompatible encapsulations will further enhance their properties and can be used
for controlled release of these phycopigments at the target site to elevate their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes (Jeevanandam et al. 2016). Thus, nanoformulated phycopigments will help to boost the bioeconomy that depends on microalgal
production, especially the pharma and nutraceutical industries in future.
14.6 Conclusion
This chapter shows the wide industrial applications of microalgae and the valuable bioactive compounds, especially pigments that are extracted from microalgae.
These phycopigments are usually termed to be better in lab-scale production and
applications. However, the list of companies that uses microalgal pigments in the
large-scale production of commercial products revealed that the phycopigments
slowly moving from lab to large-scale phase. The advancements in the microalgal
349
products (Ambati et al. 2018). Recently, BlueBioTech, a company from Germany, has
been producing a wide variety of natural, pharmaceutical and dietary supplements
via microalgal extracts, especially using their pigments (Misra et al. 2016).
In recent times, the association of nanotechnology with microalgal products to
enhance their value and properties is the trend in product formulations. The emergence of nanoparticles in the formulation of phycopigments has led to reduced
usage and elevates their value, compared to standalone phycopigments. Recently,
biocompatible nanosized ovalbumin has been functionalized using microalgal phycocyanin proteins as functional groups and these nanoparticles are used to formulate
cefpirome which is a derivative of cephalosporin. The results revealed that complex
nanoformulated cefpirome with microalgal pigment possess potential to inhibit
bacterial pathogens with high biocompatibility, compared to the non-formulated
cefpirome, ovalbumin, and phycocyanin (Namasivayam 2017). Other than nanoformulations, several studies showed ample evidences that the addition of nanoparticles
improves the production of bioactive contents in microalgae, especially bioactive
pigments (Miazek et al. 2015; Lee et al. 2015; Hazeem et al. 2015). Moreover, the
phycopigments along with microalgal bioactive molecules possess ability to synthesize biocompatible nanoparticles that can be utilized for several applications (Patel
et al. 2015). Silver nanoparticles have recently been synthesized using the microalgal
pigments of diatom Amphora sp. as the biogenic synthesis agent and the result showed
that the obtained silver nanoparticles possess enhanced antimicrobial activity against
a wide range of microbes (Jena et al. 2015). Silver, copper, gold and iron oxide
nanoparticles are synthesized using extracts of microalgae with phycopigments in
recent times (Salas-Herrera et al. 2019; Dahoumane et al. 2016; Siddiqi and Husen
2016; Shankar et al. 2016). Sometimes, the nanoparticles also may cause adverse
effect in microalgae and may affect the ecosystem dynamics, if nanoparticles are
exposed directly to the growth site of microalgae (Amanda et al. 2017). Nanoformulation of phycopigments into liposomes, micelles, polymers, dendrimers, and
biocompatible encapsulations will further enhance their properties and can be used
for controlled release of these phycopigments at the target site to elevate their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes (Jeevanandam et al. 2016). Thus, nanoformulated phycopigments will help to boost the bioeconomy that depends on microalgal
production, especially the pharma and nutraceutical industries in future.
14.6 Conclusion
This chapter shows the wide industrial applications of microalgae and the valuable bioactive compounds, especially pigments that are extracted from microalgae.
These phycopigments are usually termed to be better in lab-scale production and
applications. However, the list of companies that uses microalgal pigments in the
large-scale production of commercial products revealed that the phycopigments
slowly moving from lab to large-scale phase. The advancements in the microalgal