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Liu F, Gaul L, Giometto A, Wu M. A high throughput array microhabitat platform reveals how light and nitrogen colimit the growth of algal cells. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9860. [PMID: 38684720 PMCID: PMC11058252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59041-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
A mechanistic understanding of algal growth is essential for maintaining a sustainable environment in an era of climate change and population expansion. It is known that algal growth is tightly controlled by complex interactive physical and chemical conditions. Many mathematical models have been proposed to describe the relation of algal growth and environmental parameters, but experimental verification has been difficult due to the lack of tools to measure cell growth under precise physical and chemical conditions. As such, current models depend on the specific testing systems, and the fitted growth kinetic constants vary widely for the same organisms in the existing literature. Here, we present a microfluidic platform where both light intensity and nutrient gradients can be well controlled for algal cell growth studies. In particular, light shading is avoided, a common problem in macroscale assays. Our results revealed that light and nitrogen colimit the growth of algal cells, with each contributing a Monod growth kinetic term in a multiplicative model. We argue that the microfluidic platform can lead towards a general culture system independent algal growth model with systematic screening of many environmental parameters. Our work advances technology for algal cell growth studies and provides essential information for future bioreactor designs and ecological predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Larissa Gaul
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Andrea Giometto
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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2
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Reliable cell retention of mammalian suspension cells in microfluidic cultivation chambers. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3857. [PMID: 36890160 PMCID: PMC9995442 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30297-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Microfluidic cultivation, with its high level of environmental control and spatio-temporal resolution of cellular behavior, is a well-established tool in today's microfluidics. Yet, reliable retention of (randomly) motile cells inside designated cultivation compartments still represents a limitation, which prohibits systematic single-cell growth studies. To overcome this obstacle, current approaches rely on complex multilayer chips or on-chip valves, which makes their application for a broad community of users infeasible. Here, we present an easy-to-implement cell retention concept to withhold cells inside microfluidic cultivation chambers. By introducing a blocking structure into a cultivation chamber's entrance and nearly closing it, cells can be manually pushed into the chamber during loading procedures but are unable to leave it autonomously in subsequent long-term cultivation. CFD simulations as well as trace substance experiments confirm sufficient nutrient supply within the chamber. Through preventing recurring cell loss, growth data obtained from Chinese hamster ovary cultivation on colony level perfectly match data determined from single-cell data, which eventually allows reliable high throughput studies of single-cell growth. Due to its transferability to other chamber-based approaches, we strongly believe that our concept is also applicable for a broad range of cellular taxis studies or analyses of directed migration in basic or biomedical research.
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3
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Datta SS, Battiato I, Fernø MA, Juanes R, Parsa S, Prigiobbe V, Santanach-Carreras E, Song W, Biswal SL, Sinton D. Lab on a chip for a low-carbon future. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:1358-1375. [PMID: 36789954 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00020b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Transitioning our society to a sustainable future, with low or net-zero carbon emissions to the atmosphere, will require a wide-spread transformation of energy and environmental technologies. In this perspective article, we describe how lab-on-a-chip (LoC) systems can help address this challenge by providing insight into the fundamental physical and geochemical processes underlying new technologies critical to this transition, and developing the new processes and materials required. We focus on six areas: (I) subsurface carbon sequestration, (II) subsurface hydrogen storage, (III) geothermal energy extraction, (IV) bioenergy, (V) recovering critical materials, and (VI) water filtration and remediation. We hope to engage the LoC community in the many opportunities within the transition ahead, and highlight the potential of LoC approaches to the broader community of researchers, industry experts, and policy makers working toward a low-carbon future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujit S Datta
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, USA.
| | - Ilenia Battiato
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto CA, USA
| | - Martin A Fernø
- Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Ruben Juanes
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA
| | - Shima Parsa
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, USA
| | - Valentina Prigiobbe
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ, USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Wen Song
- Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX, USA
| | - Sibani Lisa Biswal
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada.
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4
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Liu F, Gaul L, Shu F, Vitenson D, Wu M. Microscope-based light gradient generation for quantitative growth studies of photosynthetic micro-organisms. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:3138-3146. [PMID: 35730387 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00393g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Photosynthetic micro-organisms are equipped with molecular machineries that are designed to transform light into chemical or bioenergy, and help shape and balance the ecosystem of all life forms on earth. Recently, aquatic ecosystems have been disrupted by climate change, which leads to the frequent occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs endanger drinking water resources and harm the fishing and coastal recreation industries. Despite its urgency, mechanistic understanding of how key biophysical and biochemical parameters impact algal growth is largely unexplored. In this article, we developed a microscope-based light gradient generator for studies of photosynthetic micro-organisms under well-defined light intensity gradients. This technology utilized a commercially available microscope, allowed for controlled light exposure and imaging of cells on the same microscope platform, and can be integrated with any micrometer-scale device. Using this technology, we studied the role of light intensity in the growth of photosynthetic micro-organisms. A parallel study was also carried out using a 96-well plate. Our work revealed that the growth rate of the microalgae/cyanobacteria was significantly regulated by the light intensity and followed Monod or van Oorschot kinetic models. The measured half-saturation constants were compared with those obtained in macro-scale devices, and indicated that shading, light spectrum, and temperature may all play important roles in the light sensitivity of photosynthetic micro-organisms. This work highlighted the importance of analytical tools for quantitative understanding of biophysical parameters in the growth of photosynthetic micro-organisms, and knowledge learned will be critical in the design of future technologies for managing algal blooms or optimizing bioenergy production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Larissa Gaul
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Fang Shu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Daniel Vitenson
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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5
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Saccardo A, Bezzo F, Sforza E. Microalgae growth in ultra-thin steady-state continuous photobioreactors: assessing self-shading effects. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:977429. [PMID: 36032730 PMCID: PMC9402969 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.977429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To disclose the net effect of light on microalgal growth in photobioreactors, self-shading and mixing-induced light–dark cycles must be minimized and discerned from the transient phenomena of acclimation. In this work, we performed experiments of continuous microalgal cultivation in small-scale photobioreactors with different thicknesses (from 2 to 35 mm): working at a steady state allowed us to describe the effect of light after acclimation, while the geometry of the reactor was adjusted to find the threshold light path that can discriminate different phenomena. Experiments showed an increased inhibition under smaller culture light paths, suggesting a strong shading effect at thicknesses higher than 8 mm where mixing-induced light–dark cycles may occur. A Haldane-like model was applied and kinetic parameters retrieved, showing possible issues in the scalability of experimental results at different light paths if mixing-induced light–dark cycles are not considered. To further highlight the influence of mixing cycles, we proposed an analogy between small-scale operations with continuous light and PBR operations with pulsed light, with the computation of characteristic parameters from pulsed-light microalgae growth mathematical modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Saccardo
- CAPE-Lab (Computer-Aided Process Engineering Laboratory), Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Bezzo
- CAPE-Lab (Computer-Aided Process Engineering Laboratory), Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Eleonora Sforza
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- *Correspondence: Eleonora Sforza,
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6
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Bleisch R, Freitag L, Ihadjadene Y, Sprenger U, Steingröwer J, Walther T, Krujatz F. Strain Development in Microalgal Biotechnology-Random Mutagenesis Techniques. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12070961. [PMID: 35888051 PMCID: PMC9315690 DOI: 10.3390/life12070961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Microalgal biomass and metabolites can be used as a renewable source of nutrition, pharmaceuticals and energy to maintain or improve the quality of human life. Microalgae’s high volumetric productivity and low impact on the environment make them a promising raw material in terms of both ecology and economics. To optimize biotechnological processes with microalgae, improving the productivity and robustness of the cell factories is a major step towards economically viable bioprocesses. This review provides an overview of random mutagenesis techniques that are applied to microalgal cell factories, with a particular focus on physical and chemical mutagens, mutagenesis conditions and mutant characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Bleisch
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Leander Freitag
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Yob Ihadjadene
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Una Sprenger
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Juliane Steingröwer
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Thomas Walther
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
| | - Felix Krujatz
- Institute of Natural Materials Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; (R.B.); (L.F.); (Y.I.); (U.S.); (J.S.); (T.W.)
- Biotopa gGmbH—Center for Applied Aquaculture & Bioeconomy, 01454 Radeberg, Germany
- Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz, 02763 Zittau, Germany
- Correspondence:
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7
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Alias AB, Mishra S, Pendharkar G, Chen CS, Liu CH, Liu YJ, Yao DJ. Microfluidic Microalgae System: A Review. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27061910. [PMID: 35335274 PMCID: PMC8954360 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27061910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Microalgae that have recently captivated interest worldwide are a great source of renewable, sustainable and economical biofuels. The extensive potential application in the renewable energy, biopharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries have made them necessary resources for green energy. Microalgae can substitute liquid fossil fuels based on cost, renewability and environmental concern. Microfluidic-based systems outperform their competitors by executing many functions, such as sorting and analysing small volumes of samples (nanolitre to picolitre) with better sensitivities. In this review, we consider the developing uses of microfluidic technology on microalgal processes such as cell sorting, cultivation, harvesting and applications in biofuels and biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Baby Alias
- Institute of NanoEngineering and MicroSystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; (A.B.A.); (S.M.); (C.-H.L.)
| | - Shubhanvit Mishra
- Institute of NanoEngineering and MicroSystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; (A.B.A.); (S.M.); (C.-H.L.)
| | - Gaurav Pendharkar
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan;
| | - Chi-Shuo Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan;
| | - Cheng-Hsien Liu
- Institute of NanoEngineering and MicroSystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; (A.B.A.); (S.M.); (C.-H.L.)
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan;
| | - Yi-Ju Liu
- Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu 300193, Taiwan;
| | - Da-Jeng Yao
- Institute of NanoEngineering and MicroSystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan; (A.B.A.); (S.M.); (C.-H.L.)
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan;
- Correspondence:
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8
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Liu F, Giometto A, Wu M. Microfluidic and mathematical modeling of aquatic microbial communities. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 413:2331-2344. [PMID: 33244684 PMCID: PMC7990691 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-03085-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Aquatic microbial communities contribute fundamentally to biogeochemical transformations in natural ecosystems, and disruption of these communities can lead to ecological disasters such as harmful algal blooms. Microbial communities are highly dynamic, and their composition and function are tightly controlled by the biophysical (e.g., light, fluid flow, and temperature) and biochemical (e.g., chemical gradients and cell concentration) parameters of the surrounding environment. Due to the large number of environmental factors involved, a systematic understanding of the microbial community-environment interactions is lacking. In this article, we show that microfluidic platforms present a unique opportunity to recreate well-defined environmental factors in a laboratory setting in a high throughput way, enabling quantitative studies of microbial communities that are amenable to theoretical modeling. The focus of this article is on aquatic microbial communities, but the microfluidic and mathematical models discussed here can be readily applied to investigate other microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Andrea Giometto
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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9
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Inertial Microfluidics-Based Separation of Microalgae Using a Contraction-Expansion Array Microchannel. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:mi12010097. [PMID: 33477950 PMCID: PMC7833403 DOI: 10.3390/mi12010097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Microalgae separation technology is essential for both executing laboratory-based fundamental studies and ensuring the quality of the final algal products. However, the conventional microalgae separation technology of micropipetting requires highly skilled operators and several months of repeated separation to obtain a microalgal single strain. This study therefore aimed at utilizing microfluidic cell sorting technology for the simple and effective separation of microalgae. Microalgae are characterized by their various morphologies with a wide range of sizes. In this study, a contraction-expansion array microchannel, which utilizes these unique properties of microalgae, was specifically employed for the size-based separation of microalgae. At Reynolds number of 9, two model algal cells, Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) and Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis), were successfully separated without showing any sign of cell damage, yielding a purity of 97.9% for C. vulgaris and 94.9% for H. pluvialis. The result supported that the inertia-based separation technology could be a powerful alternative to the labor-intensive and time-consuming conventional microalgae separation technologies.
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10
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Liu F, Yazdani M, Ahner BA, Wu M. An array microhabitat device with dual gradients revealed synergistic roles of nitrogen and phosphorous in the growth of microalgae. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:798-805. [PMID: 31971190 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc01153f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are an emerging environmental problem contaminating water resources and disrupting the balance of the ecosystems. HABs are caused by the sudden growth of photosynthetic algal cells in both fresh and marine water, and have been expanding in extent and appearing more frequently due to the climate change and population growth. Despite the urgency of the problem, the exact environmental conditions that trigger HABs are unknown. This is in part due to the lack of high throughput tools for screening environmental parameters in promoting the growth of photosynthetic microorganisms. In this article, we developed an array microhabitat device with well defined dual nutrient gradients suitable for quantitative studies of multiple environmental parameters in microalgal cell growth. This device enabled an ability to provide 64 different nutrient conditions [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and N : P ratio] at the same time, and the gradient generation took less than 90 min, advancing the current pond and test tube assays in terms of time and cost. Using a photosynthetic algal cell line, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, preconditioned in co-limited media, we revealed that N and P synergistically promoted cell growth. Interestingly, no discernible response was observed when single P or N gradient was imposed. Our work demonstrated the enabling capability of the microfluidic platform for screening effects of multiple environmental factors in photosynthetic cell growth, and highlighted the importance of the synergistic roles of environmental factors in algal cell growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mohammad Yazdani
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Beth A Ahner
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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11
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Castaldello C, Sforza E, Cimetta E, Morosinotto T, Bezzo F. Microfluidic Platform for Microalgae Cultivation under Non-limiting CO 2 Conditions. Ind Eng Chem Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b02888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tomas Morosinotto
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, via Bassi 58/B, 35131 Padova, Italy
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12
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Morschett H, Loomba V, Huber G, Wiechert W, von Lieres E, Oldiges M. Laboratory-scale photobiotechnology-current trends and future perspectives. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2019; 365:4604817. [PMID: 29126108 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnx238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Phototrophic bioprocesses are a promising puzzle piece in future bioeconomy concepts but yet mostly fail for economic reasons. Besides other aspects, this is mainly attributed to the omnipresent issue of optimal light supply impeding scale-up and -down of phototrophic processes according to classic established concepts. This MiniReview examines two current trends in photobiotechnology, namely microscale cultivation and modeling and simulation. Microphotobioreactors are a valuable and promising trend with microfluidic chips and microtiter plates as predominant design concepts. Providing idealized conditions, chip systems are preferably to be used for acquiring physiological data of microalgae while microtiter plate systems are more appropriate for process parameter and medium screenings. However, these systems are far from series technology and significant improvements especially regarding flexible light supply remain crucial. Whereas microscale is less addressed by modeling and simulation so far, benchtop photobioreactor design and operation have successfully been studied using such tools. This particularly includes quantitative model-assisted understanding of mixing, mass transfer, light dispersion and particle tracing as well as their relevance for microalgal performance. The ultimate goal will be to combine physiological data from microphotobioreactors with hybrid models to integrate metabolism and reactor simulation in order to facilitate knowledge-based scale transfer of phototrophic bioprocesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Morschett
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Varun Loomba
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany.,IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Gregor Huber
- IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wiechert
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Eric von Lieres
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Marco Oldiges
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany.,Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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13
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Bodénès P, Wang HY, Lee TH, Chen HY, Wang CY. Microfluidic techniques for enhancing biofuel and biorefinery industry based on microalgae. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:33. [PMID: 30815031 PMCID: PMC6376642 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1369-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
This review presents a critical assessment of emerging microfluidic technologies for the application on biological productions of biofuels and other chemicals from microalgae. Comparisons of cell culture designs for the screening of microalgae strains and growth conditions are provided with three categories: mechanical traps, droplets, or microchambers. Emerging technologies for the in situ characterization of microalgae features and metabolites are also presented and evaluated. Biomass and secondary metabolite productivities obtained at microscale are compared with the values obtained at bulk scale to assess the feasibility of optimizing large-scale operations using microfluidic platforms. The recent studies in microsystems for microalgae pretreatment, fractionation and extraction of metabolites are also reviewed. Finally, comments toward future developments (high-pressure/-temperature process; solvent-resistant devices; omics analysis, including genome/epigenome, proteome, and metabolome; biofilm reactors) of microfluidic techniques for microalgae applications are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Bodénès
- Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Hsiang-Yu Wang
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Institute of Nuclear Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Hua Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Yu Chen
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Yen Wang
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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14
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Girault M, Beneyton T, Del Amo Y, Baret JC. Microfluidic technology for plankton research. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2018; 55:134-150. [PMID: 30326407 PMCID: PMC6378650 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Plankton produces numerous chemical compounds used in cosmetics and functional foods. They also play a key role in the carbon budget on the Earth. In a context of global change, it becomes important to understand the physiological response of these microorganisms to changing environmental conditions. Their adaptations and the response to specific environmental conditions are often restricted to a few active cells or individuals in large populations. Using analytical capabilities at the subnanoliter scale, microfluidic technology has also demonstrated a high potential in biological assays. Here, we review recent advances in microfluidic technologies to overcome the current challenges in high content analysis both at population and the single cell level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Girault
- Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5031, Université de Bordeaux, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Thomas Beneyton
- Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5031, Université de Bordeaux, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Yolanda Del Amo
- Université de Bordeaux - OASU, UMR CNRS 5805 EPOC (Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux), Station Marine d'Arcachon, 33120 Arcachon, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Baret
- Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5031, Université de Bordeaux, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 33600 Pessac, France.
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15
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Serôdio J, Schmidt W, Frommlet JC, Christa G, Nitschke MR. An LED-based multi-actinic illumination system for the high throughput study of photosynthetic light responses. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5589. [PMID: 30202661 PMCID: PMC6128260 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The responses of photosynthetic organisms to light stress are of interest for both fundamental and applied research. Functional traits related to the photoinhibition, the light-induced loss of photosynthetic efficiency, are particularly interesting as this process is a key limiting factor of photosynthetic productivity in algae and plants. The quantitative characterization of light responses is often time-consuming and calls for cost-effective high throughput approaches that enable the fast screening of multiple samples. Here we present a novel illumination system based on the concept of ‘multi-actinic imaging’ of in vivo chlorophyll fluorescence. The system is based on the combination of an array of individually addressable low power RGBW LEDs and custom-designed well plates, allowing for the independent illumination of 64 samples through the digital manipulation of both exposure duration and light intensity. The illumination system is inexpensive and easily fabricated, based on open source electronics, off-the-shelf components, and 3D-printed parts, and is optimized for imaging of chlorophyll fluorescence. The high-throughput potential of the system is illustrated by assessing the functional diversity in light responses of marine macroalgal species, through the fast and simultaneous determination of kinetic parameters characterizing the response to light stress of multiple samples. Although the presented illumination system was primarily designed for the measurement of phenotypic traits related to photosynthetic activity and photoinhibition, it can be potentially used for a number of alternative applications, including the measurement of chloroplast phototaxis and action spectra, or as the basis for microphotobioreactors.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Serôdio
- Department of Biology and CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - William Schmidt
- Department of Biology and CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jörg C Frommlet
- Department of Biology and CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Gregor Christa
- Department of Biology and CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Matthew R Nitschke
- Department of Biology and CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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16
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Nguyen B, Graham PJ, Rochman CM, Sinton D. A Platform for High-Throughput Assessments of Environmental Multistressors. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2018; 5:1700677. [PMID: 29721416 PMCID: PMC5908365 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201700677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Revised: 11/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
A platform compatible with microtiter plates to parallelize environmental treatments to test the complex impacts of multiple stressors, including parameters relevant to climate change and point source pollutants is developed. This platform leverages (1) the high rate of purely diffusive gas transport in aerogels to produce well-defined centimeter-scale gas concentration gradients, (2) spatial light control, and (3) established automated liquid handling. The parallel gaseous, aqueous, and light control provided by the platform is compatible with multiparameter experiments across the life sciences. The platform is applied to measure biological effects in over 700 treatments in a five-parameter full factorial study with the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Further, the CO2 response of multicellular organisms, Lemna gibba and Artemia salina under surfactant and nanomaterial stress are tested with the platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Nguyen
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable EnergyUniversity of Toronto5 King's College RoadTorontoONM5S 3G8Canada
| | - Percival J. Graham
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable EnergyUniversity of Toronto5 King's College RoadTorontoONM5S 3G8Canada
| | - Chelsea M. Rochman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of Toronto25 Wilcocks StTorontoONM5S 3B2Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable EnergyUniversity of Toronto5 King's College RoadTorontoONM5S 3G8Canada
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17
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18
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Han SI, Soo Kim H, Han A. In-droplet cell concentration using dielectrophoresis. Biosens Bioelectron 2017; 97:41-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2017.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Revised: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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19
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Graham PJ, Nguyen B, Burdyny T, Sinton D. A penalty on photosynthetic growth in fluctuating light. Sci Rep 2017; 7:12513. [PMID: 28970553 PMCID: PMC5624943 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12923-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluctuating light is the norm for photosynthetic organisms, with a wide range of frequencies (0.00001 to 10 Hz) owing to diurnal cycles, cloud cover, canopy shifting and mixing; with broad implications for climate change, agriculture and bioproduct production. Photosynthetic growth in fluctuating light is generally considered to improve with increasing fluctuation frequency. Here we demonstrate that the regulation of photosynthesis imposes a penalty on growth in fluctuating light for frequencies in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 Hz (organisms studied: Synechococcus elongatus and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii). We provide a comprehensive sweep of frequencies and duty cycles. In addition, we develop a 2nd order model that identifies the source of the penalty to be the regulation of the Calvin cycle – present at all frequencies but compensated at high frequencies by slow kinetics of RuBisCO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Percival J Graham
- University of Toronto Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Toronto, Canada
| | - Brian Nguyen
- University of Toronto Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Toronto, Canada
| | - Thomas Burdyny
- University of Toronto Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Toronto, Canada
| | - David Sinton
- University of Toronto Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Toronto, Canada.
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20
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Pierobon SC, Riordon J, Nguyen B, Ooms MD, Sinton D. Periodic harvesting of microalgae from calcium alginate hydrogels for sustained high-density production. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017; 114:2023-2031. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott C. Pierobon
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto ON M5S 3G8 Canada
| | - Jason Riordon
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto ON M5S 3G8 Canada
| | - Brian Nguyen
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto ON M5S 3G8 Canada
| | - Matthew D. Ooms
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto ON M5S 3G8 Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto ON M5S 3G8 Canada
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21
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Ooms MD, Graham PJ, Nguyen B, Sargent EH, Sinton D. Light dilution via wavelength management for efficient high-density photobioreactors. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017; 114:1160-1169. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Revised: 01/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. Ooms
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto M5S 3G8, Ontario Canada
| | - Percival J. Graham
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto M5S 3G8, Ontario Canada
| | - Brian Nguyen
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto M5S 3G8, Ontario Canada
| | - Edward H. Sargent
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; University of Toronto; Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Institute for Sustainable Energy; University of Toronto; 5 King's College Road Toronto M5S 3G8, Ontario Canada
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22
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Morschett H, Freier L, Rohde J, Wiechert W, von Lieres E, Oldiges M. A framework for accelerated phototrophic bioprocess development: integration of parallelized microscale cultivation, laboratory automation and Kriging-assisted experimental design. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2017; 10:26. [PMID: 28163783 PMCID: PMC5282810 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0711-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Even though microalgae-derived biodiesel has regained interest within the last decade, industrial production is still challenging for economic reasons. Besides reactor design, as well as value chain and strain engineering, laborious and slow early-stage parameter optimization represents a major drawback. RESULTS The present study introduces a framework for the accelerated development of phototrophic bioprocesses. A state-of-the-art micro-photobioreactor supported by a liquid-handling robot for automated medium preparation and product quantification was used. To take full advantage of the technology's experimental capacity, Kriging-assisted experimental design was integrated to enable highly efficient execution of screening applications. The resulting platform was used for medium optimization of a lipid production process using Chlorella vulgaris toward maximum volumetric productivity. Within only four experimental rounds, lipid production was increased approximately threefold to 212 ± 11 mg L-1 d-1. Besides nitrogen availability as a key parameter, magnesium, calcium and various trace elements were shown to be of crucial importance. Here, synergistic multi-parameter interactions as revealed by the experimental design introduced significant further optimization potential. CONCLUSIONS The integration of parallelized microscale cultivation, laboratory automation and Kriging-assisted experimental design proved to be a fruitful tool for the accelerated development of phototrophic bioprocesses. By means of the proposed technology, the targeted optimization task was conducted in a very timely and material-efficient manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Morschett
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Lars Freier
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Jannis Rohde
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wiechert
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Eric von Lieres
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Marco Oldiges
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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23
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Morschett H, Schiprowski D, Rohde J, Wiechert W, Oldiges M. Comparative evaluation of phototrophic microtiter plate cultivation against laboratory-scale photobioreactors. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 2017; 40:663-673. [DOI: 10.1007/s00449-016-1731-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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24
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Novel micro-photobioreactor design and monitoring method for assessing microalgae response to light intensity. ALGAL RES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2016.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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25
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Yang YT, Wang CY. Review of Microfluidic Photobioreactor Technology for Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology of Cyanobacteria and Microalgae. MICROMACHINES 2016; 7:mi7100185. [PMID: 30404358 PMCID: PMC6190437 DOI: 10.3390/mi7100185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
One goal of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for cyanobacteria and microalgae is to engineer strains that can optimally produce biofuels and commodity chemicals. However, the current workflow is slow and labor intensive with respect to assembly of genetic parts and characterization of production yields because of the slow growth rates of these organisms. Here, we review recent progress in the microfluidic photobioreactors and identify opportunities and unmet needs in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Because of the unprecedented experimental resolution down to the single cell level, long-term real-time monitoring capability, and high throughput with low cost, microfluidic photobioreactor technology will be an indispensible tool to speed up the development process, advance fundamental knowledge, and realize the full potential of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for cyanobacteria and microalgae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Tang Yang
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
| | - Chun Ying Wang
- Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
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26
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Ooms MD, Dinh CT, Sargent EH, Sinton D. Photon management for augmented photosynthesis. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12699. [PMID: 27581187 PMCID: PMC5025804 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Microalgae and cyanobacteria are some of nature's finest examples of solar energy conversion systems, effortlessly transforming inorganic carbon into complex molecules through photosynthesis. The efficiency of energy-dense hydrocarbon production by photosynthetic organisms is determined in part by the light collected by the microorganisms. Therefore, optical engineering has the potential to increase the productivity of algae cultivation systems used for industrial-scale biofuel synthesis. Herein, we explore and report emerging and promising material science and engineering innovations for augmenting microalgal photosynthesis. Photosynthetic microalgae could provide an ecologically sustainable route to produce solar biofuels and high-value chemicals. Here, the authors review various optical management strategies used to manipulate the incident light in order to increase the efficiency of microalgae biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D. Ooms
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 Kings College Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3G8
| | - Cao Thang Dinh
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 10 King's College Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3G4
| | - Edward H. Sargent
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 10 King's College Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3G4
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 Kings College Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S3G8
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27
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Nguyen B, Graham PJ, Sinton D. Dual gradients of light intensity and nutrient concentration for full-factorial mapping of photosynthetic productivity. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:2785-2790. [PMID: 27364571 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00619a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing bioproduct generation from microalgae is complicated by the myriad of coupled parameters affecting photosynthetic productivity. Quantifying the effect of multiple coupled parameters in full-factorial fashion requires a prohibitively high number of experiments. We present a simple hydrogel-based platform for the rapid, full-factorial mapping of light and nutrient availability on the growth and lipid accumulation of microalgae. We accomplish this without microfabrication using thin sheets of cell-laden hydrogels. By immobilizing the algae in a hydrogel matrix we are able to take full advantage of the continuous spatial chemical gradient produced by a diffusion-based gradient generator while eliminating the need for chambers. We map the effect of light intensities between 0 μmol m(-2) s(-1) and 130 μmol m(-2) s(-1) (∼28 W m(-2)) coupled with ammonium concentrations between 0 mM and 7 mM on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Our data set, verified with bulk experiments, clarifies the role of ammonium availability on the photosynthetic productivity Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, demonstrating the dependence of ammonium inhibition on light intensity. Specifically, a sharp optimal growth peak emerges at approximately 2 mM only for light intensities between 80 and 100 μmol m(-2) s(-1)- suggesting that ammonium inhibition is insignificant at lower light intensities. We speculate that this phenomenon is due to the regulation of the high affinity ammonium transport system in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as well as free ammonia toxicity. The complexity of this photosynthetic biological response highlights the importance of full-factorial data sets as enabled here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Nguyen
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Institute of Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8 Canada.
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28
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Pierobon SC, Riordon J, Nguyen B, Sinton D. Breathable waveguides for combined light and CO2 delivery to microalgae. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2016; 209:391-396. [PMID: 26996260 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2016] [Revised: 02/27/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Suboptimal light and chemical distribution (CO2, O2) in photobioreactors hinder phototrophic microalgal productivity and prevent economically scalable production of biofuels and bioproducts. Current strategies that improve illumination in reactors negatively impact chemical distribution, and vice versa. In this work, an integrated illumination and aeration approach is demonstrated using a gas-permeable planar waveguide that enables combined light and chemical distribution. An optically transparent cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) slab is used to supply both light and CO2 at various source concentrations to cyanobacteria. The breathable waveguide architecture is capable of cultivating microalgae with over double the growth as achieved with impermeable waveguides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott C Pierobon
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Jason Riordon
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Brian Nguyen
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering and Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada.
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29
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Cheng X, Ooms MD, Sinton D. Biomass-to-biocrude on a chip via hydrothermal liquefaction of algae. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:256-60. [PMID: 26667244 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01369k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Hydrothermal liquefaction uses high temperatures and pressures to break organic compounds into smaller fractions, and is considered the most promising method to convert wet microalgae feedstock to biofuel. Although, hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae has received much attention, the specific roles of temperature, pressure, heating rate and reaction time remain unclear. We present a microfluidic screening platform to precisely control and observe reaction conditions at high temperature and pressure. In situ observation using fluorescence enables direct, real-time monitoring of this process. A strong shift in the fluorescence signature from the algal slurry at 675 nm (chlorophyll peak) to a post-HTL stream at 510 nm is observed for reaction temperatures at 260 °C, 280 °C, 300 °C and 320 °C (P = 12 MPa), and occurs over a timescale on the order of 10 min. Biocrude formation and separation from the aqueous phase into immiscible droplets is directly observed and occurs over the same timescale. The higher heating values for the sample are observed to increase over shorter timescales on the order of minutes. After only 1 minute at 300 °C, the higher heating value increases from an initial value of 21.97 MJ kg(-1) to 33.63 MJ kg(-1). The microfluidic platform provides unprecedented control and insight into this otherwise opaque process, with resolution that will guide the design of large scale reactors and processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Cheng
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Institute of Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8 Canada.
| | - Matthew D Ooms
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Institute of Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8 Canada.
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Institute of Sustainable Energy, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8 Canada.
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30
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Jung JH, Lee KS, Im S, Destgeer G, Ha BH, Park J, Sung HJ. Photosynthesis of cyanobacteria in a miniaturized optofluidic waveguide platform. RSC Adv 2016. [DOI: 10.1039/c5ra24344k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the effect of increasing the optical penetration length, inside polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based photobioreactors (PBRs), upon the photosynthetic cell growth of cyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Ho Jung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Kang Soo Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Sunghyuk Im
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Ghulam Destgeer
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Byung Hang Ha
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Jinsoo Park
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
| | - Hyung Jin Sung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- KAIST
- Daejeon 34141
- Republic of Korea
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31
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Kim BJ, Richter LV, Hatter N, Tung CK, Ahner BA, Wu M. An array microhabitat system for high throughput studies of microalgal growth under controlled nutrient gradients. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:3687-3694. [PMID: 26248065 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc00727e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Microalgae have been increasingly recognized in the fields of environmental and biomedical engineering because of its use as base materials for biofuels or biomedical products, and also the urgent needs to control harmful algal blooms protecting water resources worldwide. Central to the theme is the growth rate of microalgae under the influences of various environmental cues including nutrients, pH, oxygen tension and light intensity. Current microalgal culture systems, e.g. raceway ponds or chemostats, are not designed for system parameter optimizations of cell growth. In this article, we present the development of an array microfluidic system for high throughput studies of microalgal growth under well defined environmental conditions. The microfluidic platform consists of an array of microhabitats flanked by two parallel side channels, all of which are patterned in a thin agarose gel membrane. The unique feature of the device is that each microhabitat is physically confined suitable for both motile and non-motile cell culture, and at the same time, the device is transparent and can be perfused through the two side channels amendable for precise environmental control of photosynthetic microorganisms. This microfluidic system is used to study the growth kinetics of a model microalgal strain, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii), under ammonium (NH4Cl) concentration gradients. Experimental results show that C. reinhardtii follows Monod growth kinetics with a half-saturation constant of 1.2 ± 0.3 μM. This microfluidic platform provides a fast (~50 fold speed increase), cost effective (less reagents and human intervention) and quantitative technique for microalgal growth studies, in contrast to the current chemostat or batch cell culture system. It can be easily extended to investigate growth kinetics of other microorganisms under either single or co-culture setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beum Jun Kim
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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