title: Raman spectroscopy compatible PDMS droplet microfluidic culture and analysis platform towards on-chip lipidomics.
abstract: Lipids produced by microalgae are viewed as a potential renewable alternative to fossil fuels, however, significant improvements in productivity are required for microalgal biofuels to become economically feasible. Here we present a method that allows for the use of Raman spectroscopy with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) droplet microfluidic devices, which not only overcomes the high Raman background of PDMS, but also achieves pairing of the high-throughput single-cell resolution advantages of droplet microfluidics with the direct, chemically specific, label-free, and non-destructive nature of Raman spectroscopy. The platform was successfully utilized for in situ characterization of microalgal lipid production over time within droplets, paving the way towards high-throughput microalgal lipidomics assays.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA. arum.han@ece.tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Hyun Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sergio C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Waqued
authors.forename: Dawson T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Nodurft
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Devarenne
authors.forename: Vladislav V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Yakovlev
authors.forename: Arum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000737:chemistry; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D008055:Lipids