title: Rapid spectrophotometric method for determining surface free energy of microalgal cells.
abstract: Microalgae are one of the most promising renewable energy sources with environmental sustainability. The surface free energy of microalgal cells determines their biofouling and bioflocculation behavior and hence plays an important role in microalgae cultivation and harvesting. To date, the surface energetic properties of microalgal cells are still rarely studied. We developed a novel spectrophotometric method for directly determining the surface free energy of microalgal cells. The principles of this method are based on analyzing colloidal stability of microalgae suspensions. We have shown that this method can effectively differentiate the surface free energy of four microalgal strains, i.e., marine Chlorella sp., marine Nannochloris oculata, freshwater autotrophic Chlorella sp., and freshwater heterotrophic Chlorella sp. With advantages of high-throughput and simplicity, this new spectrophotometric method has the potential to evolve into a standard method for measuring the surface free energy of cells and abiotic particles.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Xinru
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zeyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Mengyin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xinxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Aihui
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yi Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zuo
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D002708:Chlorella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes