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Review
. 2021 Feb 10;26(4):927.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26040927.

Colour Me Blue: The History and the Biotechnological Potential of Pyocyanin

Thiago Gonçalves  1 , Ulrich Vasconcelos  1
Affiliations
Review

Colour Me Blue: The History and the Biotechnological Potential of Pyocyanin

Thiago Gonçalves et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Pyocyanin was the first natural phenazine described. The molecule is synthesized by about 95% of the strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. From discovery up to now, pyocyanin has been characterised by a very rich and avant-garde history, which includes its use in antimicrobial therapy, even before the discovery of penicillin opened the era of antibiotic therapy, as well as its use in electric current generation. Exhibiting an exuberant blue colour and being easy to obtain, this pigment is the subject of the present review, aiming to narrate its history as well as to unveil its mechanisms and suggest new horizons for applications in different areas of engineering, biology and biotechnology.

Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; bacterial pigments; bioprospecting; pyocyanase.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Steps of the biosynthesis of pyocyanin by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its oxidated (A) and reduced (B) states.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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