Aurantiochytrium limacinum as a natural and sustainable alternative source for squalene: a novel thin-layer chromatography method for squalene detection.

Aurantiochytrium limacinum PA-968 (Yokoyama and Honda 2007) was cultivated to underline its real potential for producing multiple valuable natural products, especially for squalene. The highest biomass productivity was 10.45 ± 0.10 g L-1. The highest carbohydrate, protein, carotenoid, and lipid yields were 153.72 ± 2.90 µg mg-1, 528.97 ± 4.14 µg mg-1, 0.12 ± 0.01 µg mg-1, and 248.50 ± 19.00 µg mg-1, respectively. Squalene was extracted by using two different extraction methods and detected using HPLC as 3.42 ± 0.25 µg mg-1 and 4.60 ± 0.23 µg mg-1. For squalene detection, a new quantitative TLC method presented a significant correlation (R2=0.9511) with HPLC method. This TLC method might be used instead of HPLC for the analysis of samples or TLC could be used as a preliminary screening technique rather than completely replacing HPLC in monitoring the ongoing process in a short time using low amounts of solvents for further studies.