Use of methylene blue uptake for assessing cell viability of colony-forming microalgae

Juliano Lemos Bicas; Dorinde M. M. Kleinegris; Maria J. Barbosa

doi:10.1016/j.algal.2015.02.004

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Use of methylene blue uptake for assessing cell viability of colony-forming microalgae

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Use of methylene blue uptake for assessing cell viability of colony-forming microalgae

Juliano Lemos Bicas, Dorinde M. M. Kleinegris and Maria J. Barbosa

Algal research (Amsterdam), Vol.8, pp.174-180

03/01/2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2015.02.004

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https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/use-of-methylene-blue-uptake-for-assessing-cell-viability-of-coloView

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Abstract

During the past fewyears, interest in microalgae has grown, mainly because of their potential for biofuel production. Botryococcus braunii, a green microalga that can accumulate more than half of its dry weight as hydrocarbons, is one of the most important examples. This microorganism grows in colonies and there has been no reliable viability protocol reported for this species as yet. Knowing the number of dead cells in cultures is essential for the development of efficient bioprocesses such as non-destructive extraction procedures ("milking") to obtain lipid soluble substances frommicroalgal biomass. Our study presents a simple colorimetricmethod to determine the proportion of living to dead cells in cultures, based on the uptake ofmethylene blue in solution by dead B. braunii cells. The main parameters influencing this process were investigated and used to develop a protocol. This techniquewas validated using flow cytometry and Neochloris oleoabundans, and appears not to be limited to use with B. braunii. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Use of methylene blue uptake for assessing cell viability of colony-forming microalgae
Creators: Juliano Lemos Bicas - Federal University of São João del-Rei
Dorinde M. M. Kleinegris - Biocon (India)
Maria J. Barbosa - Univ Wageningen & Res Ctr, Food & Biobased Res, NL-6700 HB Wageningen, Netherlands
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Algal research (Amsterdam), Vol.8, pp.174-180
DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2015.02.004
ISSN: 2211-9264
eISSN: 2211-9264
Publisher: Elsevier
Number of pages: 7
Grant note: FP7-311956 / European Union's Seventh Programme 6403-13-1 / CAPES, Brazil; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)
Language: English
Date published: 03/01/2015
Academic Unit: International Programs; Spanish and Portuguese
Record Identifier: 9984398029202771

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