Eco/genotoxicology of microbial colorants and alternative solvents: a tool to enable their application in sustainable industrial processes

• Grant number: 22/14207-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Valéria de Carvalho Santos Ebinuma
• Grantee: Amanda dos Santos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06686-8 - Biotechnological process for the development of natural colorants from microbial sources for industrial application: phase II, AP.BIOEN.JP2
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/20526-1 - Unraveling the Environmental Impacts of Dyes in Life Cycle Assessment: Characterization Factors for Ecosystem Quality and Human Health, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Colorants are essential for today's society and thus are used in various industries. These compounds can be classified as synthetic or natural, being synthetic ones the most used and those that attract concern due to their potential to cause adverse effects on human and environmental health. As a result, the search for dyes of natural origin to replace synthetic ones has grown in recent years. The obtainment of colorants by microorganisms such as yeasts, filamentous fungi, and microalgae, among others, has been considered the most promising. The research group Bioproducts' Production and Purification Lab (BioPPuL), from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFAR) at São Paulo State University (UNESP), has achieved considerable advances in the production and extraction of colorants from filamentous fungi and yeast, following the principles of circular economy, through the use of a synthetic medium in the production stage, alternative solvents in the extraction step, and life cycle studies in the whole process. The next step of the study will be to expand the process scale-up for the industrial application of the colorants and the use of agro-industrial residues as a source of nutrients, in addition to assessing the hazard of the compounds produced and alternative solvents for molecules extracting used during the process. Thus, the objective of the present project is to provide a toxicological characterization of the natural dyes developed by BioPPuL and of the alternative solvents used in the downstream process, using aquatic models to verify acute and chronic toxicity, and mutagenicity evaluation using an in vitro model. At the end of the project, it is expected to obtain the eco/genotoxicological characterization of colorants and alternative solvents to assess possible risks to human and environmental health. The data generated will serve as a subsidy for future regulations, classification of substances, and for a more robust life cycle assessment, providing direct the application of these colorants in the market.