Production of Nanofibers Containing the Bioactive Compound C-Phycocyanin

C-phycocyanin (C-PC) is a water-soluble phycobiliprotein present in light-harvesting antenna system of cyanobacteria. The nanostructures have not been widely evaluated, precluding improvements in stability and application of the C-PC. Electrospun nanofibers have an extremely high specific surface area due to their small diameter, they can be produced from a wide variety of polymers, and they are successfully evaluated to increase the efficacy of antitumor drugs. The incorporation of C-PC into nanofibers would allow investigations of potential uses in alternative cancer treatments and tissue engineering scaffolds. In this paper, C-phycocyanin were incorporated into the polymer polyethylene oxide (PEO) in various concentrations for nanofiber production via an electrospinning process. Nanofibers structures were analyzed using digital optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermogravimetric analysis was performed on the pure starting compounds and the produced nanofibers. At a concentration of 2% (w/w) of PEO, nanofibers were not produced, and concentrations of 4% (w/w) of PEO failed to produce nanofibers of good quality. Solutions with 6% (w/w) PEO, 6% (w/w) PEO plus 1% (w/w) NaCI, and 8% (w/w) PEO promote the formation of bluish, homogeneous and bead-free nanofibers with average diameters varying between 542.1 and 759.9 nm, as evaluated by optical microscopy. SEM analysis showed that nanofibers produced from polymer solutions containing 6% (w/w) PEO, 1% (w/w) NaCI and 3% (w/w) C-PC have an average diameter of 295 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis detected an increase in thermal resistance with the incorporation of C-phycocyanin into nanofibers.