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CESI Biofilm monitoring

Abstract


A Combined Electrical, Spectroscopic and Imaging tool to monitor photosynthetic biofilms


Microalgae are promising microorganisms cultivated as a source of high valuable compounds in the perspective of industrial production. Despite their huge potential, low productivities and high energy demand hinder the widespread use of conventional microalgae production systems at large-scale. Alternative solutions are therefore needed to overcome these challenges. This project focus on microalgae biofilm-systems as an alternative solution to increase the productivity while reducing the environmental impact and economic costs compared to conventional suspended cultures. At present however, microalgae biofilms are poorly understood and due to their inherent 3D organization, techniques that allows for in situ measurements must be selected in order to spatially resolve their structural and chemical properties. Therefore, in this project we propose to develop an innovative microfluidic tool that will allow the cultivation and the simultaneous characterization of the electrical (impedance), chemical (Raman microscopy) and structural (Confocal microscopy) properties of microalgae biofilms directly in-situ. This set-up will allow to screen in situ the spatial productivity of valuable molecules during the growth of microalgae biofilms in view of biotechnological applications.





Contacts :

LUMIN
  • Sakina BENSALEM
  • Bruno LE PIOUFLE

LGPM
  • Filipa LOPES