Aqueous biphasic electrophoresis system (ABES) incorporates electric fields into the biphasic system to separate the target biomolecules from crude feedstock. Ionic liquid (IL) is regarded as an excellent candidate as the phase-forming components for ABES because of the great electrical conductivity, which can promote the electromigration of biomolecules in ABES, and thereby enhances the separation efficiency of the target biomolecules from crude feedstock. The application of electric fields to the conventional biphasic system expedites the phase settling time of the biphasic system, which eases the subsequent scaling-up steps and reduces the overall processing time of the recovery process. Alkyl sulphate-based IL is a green and economical halide-free surfactant when compared to the other halide-containing IL. The feasibility of halide-free IL-based ABES to recover Kytococcus sedentarius TWHK01 keratinase was studied. Optimum partition coefficient (Ke = 7.53 ± 0.35) and yield (YT = 80.36% ± 0.71) were recorded with IL-ABES comprised of 15.0% (w/w) [EMIM][ESO4], 20.0% (w/w) sodium carbonate and 15% (w/w) crude feedstock. Selectivity (S) of 5.75 ± 0.27 was obtained with the IL-ABES operated at operation time of 5 min with 10 V voltage supplied. Halide-free IL is proven to be a potential phase-forming component of IL-ABES for large-scale recovery of keratinase.
Keywords: aqueous biphasic electrophoresis system; electric fields; halide-free; ionic liquids; keratinase.