96-Well Culture Microplates as a Microreactor Platform for Microalgae Research

Platforms for high-throughput microalgae screening are not yet commercially available. We analyzed the feasibility of utilizing 96-well microplates as microreactor platforms for microalgae research. Particularly, the use of the system as a screening tool for systematic optimization of microalgae culture media was demonstrated. Six microalgae strains from collection and environmental samples were grown at three different culture medium water dilutions in a randomized experimental design in the central subset of the microplate. At each well, biomass growth was evaluated by light absorbance at 680 nm and the specific growth rate was calculated from the exponential phase of the growth curve. A statistical analysis of a one species microplate experiment showed that the system was robust as a microreactor platform for microalgae kinetic studies, i.e. the data exhibited a normal distribution with no significant effect of well position. Based on our analysis, recommendations are given for the adequate design of growth screening experiments of microalgae in 96-well microplates.