College of Education for Pure Science

In fulfillment of the third goal (Good Health and Well-being) and the fourth goal (Quality Education) of the Sustainable Development Goals, a doctoral dissertation entitled “Extraction of the bio-protein pigment C-phycocyanin with a high degree of purity and detection of its effective effect against pathogenic bacteria and cancer cells” was defended at the College of Education for Pure Sciences at the University of Mosul on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
Part of the dissertation defense was attended by the Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs, Assistant Professor Dr. Younis Saadi Saeed, and the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor Dr. Azzam Salahuddin Younis. The study, presented by the researcher Hamed Mohammed Taqi Ali from the Department of Biology, addressed the development and purification of the cyanobacterium Nostoc minutum in a liquid BG11 selective culture medium enriched with nutrients and supplemented with vitamin B12. The study was morphologically and partially characterized by studying the nitrogenous base sequence of its 16S rRNA gene, showing a 99% match with the gene bank. The vital protein pigment C-phycocyanin was produced from a cyanobacterium of the genus Nostoc minutum isolated from the local environment. Physiological results showed that the optimal growth density on the fifteenth day in the BG11 culture medium was 16.398. It was noted that the best methods for extracting protein and the vital pigment phycocyanin were freeze-thaw and ultrasonication, respectively. These methods were effective in extracting highly purified protein, achieving the highest optical density value of 8.773.
The discussion committee was chaired by Professor Dr. Mona Hussein Ali, along with Professor Dr. Jassim Fatehi Ali, Assistant Professor Dr. Mira Osama Ahmed, Assistant Professor Dr. Siraj Muhammad Abdullah, and Assistant Professor Dr. Ghazwan Qasim Hassan as members, and Professor Dr. Yousuf Jabbar Ismail and Professor Dr. Omar Younis Muhammad as both members and supervisors.
The esteemed Dean of the College presented a letter of thanks and appreciation to Professor Dr. Mona Hussein Ali from the College of Science, University of Mosul, and Assistant Professor Dr. Siraj Muhammad Abdullah from the College of Science, University of Salahuddin-Erbil, for their participation in the discussion of the researcher.
The doctoral dissertation was accepted. Congratulations to the researcher and his supervisors on this scientific achievement.

Division of Media and Government Communication
College of Education for Pure Sciences
Wednesday, September 10, 2025