Production, extraction and purificationof violacein: an antibiotic pigment producedby Chromobacterium violaceum

A procedure for the production, extraction, and purification of violacein was developed using Chromobacterium violaceum (CCT 3496) cultivated on cotton, in modified 1 litre Roux bottles. A surface tray bioreactor was built to perform these experiments. Violacein was extracted with commercial ethanol, and purified by filtration, Soxhlet extraction, crystallization and high performance liquid chromatography. The violacein was analysed and identified by proton and carbon-13 NMR spectroscopies, thermogravimetric analysis, mass spectrometry, UV-VIS spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. It was concluded that the product was highly purified violacein.