Methods for purifying phycotoxins, pharmaceutical compositions containing purified phycotoxins, and methods of use thereof

摘要

Phycotoxins are purified from a mixture of phycotoxins produced in a continuous process. Cyanobacteria are produced in a continuous culture, then lyzed, the cells pelleted and extracted, and the extract purified using an organic solvent-aqueous mixture and repeated passage through a diatomaceous earth column. The column is washed with acetic acid, then the neosaxitoxin extracted with an alcohol-water mixture. The eluate is passed through activated charcoal columns, which are washed with distilled water to remove the retained pigments and impurities, the further purified by HPLC. In one embodiment, the process produces only neosaxitoxin and saxitoxin. In another embodiment, the process produces only GTX2/3.

主权项

1. A method for the isolation and purification of neosaxitoxin produced by cyanobacteria which produce neosaxitoxin and saxitoxin, the method comprising:
(a) Lysing the cyanobacteria, (b) cold extracting the phycotoxins from the lysed cyanobacteria at pH 5 to obtain a concentrate, (c) passing the concentrate through a molecular weight separation column to obtain a phycotoxin eluate containing predominately neosaxitoxin, and (d) passing the eluate through a cation-exchange column, washing the column with acid and eluting the neosaxitoxin with an acidic alcoholic extraction solution to produce a highly pure neosaxitoxin eluant.