What happened
The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has extended financial assistance to M/s K. N. Biosciences (India) Private Limited, Hyderabad, for the project titled “Production of C-Phycocyanin using Spirulina sp. as a Cell Factory.” The project aims to commercialize an indigenous technology developed at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati for producing high-value C-Phycocyanin.
C-Phycocyanin is a natural blue pigment with applications in the food, nutraceutical, agriculture, aquaculture, poultry feed, and biostimulant sectors. The official objective is to reduce India’s dependence on imported natural colorants and to create a commercial-scale domestic production capability.
Background and earlier position
The technology uses an indigenous Spirulina strain, NCIM 5143, and has been transferred to the company through a formal Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement. The release presents the project as an example of publicly funded research moving into market-ready biotechnology products.
The process has two linked parts. The upstream stage uses controlled photoautotrophic cultivation under optimized light and nutrient conditions to generate high-density Spirulina biomass rich in phycocyanin. The downstream stage uses a green, solvent-free extraction and single-step purification process to obtain food-grade and analytical-grade C-Phycocyanin.
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