J. Technology and Education, Vol.22, No.1, pp.11-16 (2015)

General Paper

 

Fluorescent Properties of Extract from Fired Purple Sea Urchin Shell

 

Susumu KOHATA*, Daiki YAMAGUCHI, Mayu UEMOTO, Reina HIRAOKA,

Keisuke YOSHINAGA, Yoshisuke FUTAMI and Yuko HAMABE

 

Department of Biological and Chemical Systems Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kumamoto College, Hirayama-shinmachi 2627, Yatsushiro-city, Kumamoto 866-8501, Japan

*kohata@kumamoto-nct.ac.jp

 

(Received March 23, 2015; Accepted May 11, 2015)

 

Abstract

The fluorescence properties of an aqueous solution extracted from fired purple sea urchin shell (PSU) have been investigated. A pale blue-white fluorescence with a broad spectrum of 420 nm (peak) and 450 nm (shoulder) was observed by excitation at 370 nm for the extract from PSU fired at temperatures of 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 °C. The highest fluorescence intensity was obtained for the extract from PSU fired at 300 °C. However, no fluorescence was observed from the extracts of the non-fired shells or from those fired at 600, 800 and 1000 °C, or from that fired at 300 °C which had been immersed in alkaline solution for 14 days. An oligopeptide with a molecular weight of ca. 910 and some trace metal ions of Cu and Zn were detected in the extracted aqueous solution by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses. These substances and calcium carbonate are considered to be the source of the fluorescence.

 

Key words: purple sea urchin shell, fluorescence, aqueous solution extract, IR, GPC, ICP-MS