A. A. Lukyanov

Possibilities of bioconversion of agricultural waste with the use of microalgae

A new methodology of biological treatment and conversion of farm waste (manure and wash water) with the use of intensively cultivated phototrophic microorganisms (microalgae) is reviewed. Criteria for selection of microalgae and peculiarities of their intensive cultivation for efficient removal of biogenic elements from and destruction of the organic components of the wastes as well as the possibilities of cost-effective utilization of the resulting microalgal biomass are considered. Advantages and drawbacks of the new methodology are compared with those of conventional anaerobic techniques. Special attention is paid to the integrated technologies combining the aerobic conversion methods with microalgal post-treatment.

Immobilized microalgae in biotechnology

Here we present a brief account of current data on immobilization of oxygenic phototrophic microorganisms—cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae—in natural and artificial experimental systems. We emphasize that immobilization e.g. in biofilms is a basic, widespread in nature strategy ensuring the survival of microorganisms. Accordingly, the artificially immobilized microalgal cells might be considered as a special group of biomimetic materials. Special attention is paid to the effect(s) of different immobilization on the physiology of microalgal cells and their stress tolerance as well as productivity of microalgal cultures. A comparison of the advantages and drawbacks of different immobilization techniques and cell carriers is presented. The review concludes with outlook on the possibilities of using of the immobilized phototrophic cells in biotechnology. Specific areas include (but not limited to) the biomass and metabolites production and harvesting, removal of heavy metals, biocapture of nutrients from wastewater and destroying of organic pollutants are explored.

Manifestation of Salt Tolerance of Spirulina platensis and Spirulina maxima Cyanobacteria of the Genus Arthrospira (Spirulina)

The salt tolerance of two representatives of genus Spirulina (Arthrospira) Spirulina platensis and Spirulina maxima has been investigated. They both are the wide-spread objects of photobiotechnology and it has been shown that the content of 5–15 % sea-water in medium has not caused the decreasing of biomass yield more than 15–20% as compared with control. The further decreasing of biomass was proportionate to sea-water content in medium. The investigation of reactivity of native (intravital) exometabolites secreted into cultural medium has showed that the sea-water content influence the oxidative activity (OA) of exometabolites and hour’s rhythmics.

The enrichment of biomass of cyanobacteria with vanadium using the cation and anion forms of its compounds

Compounds of the trace element vanadium have been shown to mimic insulin effects in in vitro and in vivo systems. Vanadium compounds have emerged as agents for potential use in diabetes therapy. In our work we show the possibility of obtaining enriched biomass of cyanobacteria genus Spirulina (S. platensis and S. maxima) with vanadium in organic form. We have investigated the accumulation of vanadium by the cells of cyanobacteria S. platensis and S. maxima by adding to cultural medium both the forms of vanadium in various concentrations and have defined the optimal concentrations of vanadium in the medium for maximum enrichment of the cells. We defined that S. maxima is more steady to increased concentration of vanadium(IV) and (V) in medium. Optimal concentration of vanadium(IV) in the medium for enrichment of S. platensis and S. maxima biomass was 1.5 g/L, at this vanadium concentration in medium the content of vanadium in the cells of S. platensis was 1245±105 μg/g and in the cells of S. maxima was 1550±75 μg/g. In the case of vanadium(V) addition, the optimal concentration for S. platensis enrichment was 1.5 g/L vanadium(V) in medium, and the intracellular concentration was 2855±254 μg/g. For S. maxima the optimal concentration was 1.0 g/L vanadium(V) in medium, at that concentration the content of vanadium in cells was 2650±206 μg/g. In addition, we revealed the alterations in macro- and microelemental compositions of both cultures caused by the increased concentration of vanadium compounds in cultural medium.

Immobilization of cyanobacteria and microalgae on polyethylenimine-based sorbents

Immobilization of phototrophic microogranisms: microalgae (MA) and cyanobacteria (CB) on polyethylenimine (PEI)-based sorbents was studied. For this purpose, 3 insoluble porous polymeric materials were synthesized by cross-linking of PEI with epichlorohydrine and immobilization of PEI on the surface of styrene–divinylbenzene copolymer. The sorbent on the basis of cross-linked PEI was also alkylated with hexadecyl bromide to achieve hydrophobicity of its surface. The analysis of kinetics and efficiency of immobilization assessed for the model MA and CB cultures revealed the significant difference in the sorption activity of different types of sorbents depending on their synthesis procedure, chemical composition and hydrophilic-hydrophobic properties of polymeric surface. The hydrophobic sorbent obtained by immobilization of PEI on the surface of styrene–divinylbenzene copolymer characterized by very low sorption activity towards CB and MA cells. The highest immobilization efficiency of phototrophic cells was achieved for the hydrophilic sorbent on the basis of PEI cross-linked with epichlorohydrine, which provided the attachment of 50–70% of cells during 3 h of incubation. The hydrophobic sorbent based on alkylated cross-linked PEI effectively immobilized CB cells, while the colonization of the polymer surface by MA cells was very scarce. The noticed effect is explained by difference in prokaryotic (CB) and eukaryotic (MA) types of surface structures organization. Assessment of photosynthetic activity of immobilized MA cells by pulse-modulated fluorometry showed that hydrophobic sorbents had no toxic effect on the cells, while toxicity of hydrophilic cross-linked PEI-based sorbent was observed only after long-term cultivation ofphototrophic cells with this sorbent.

Immobilization of microalgae on the surface of new cross-linked polyethylenimine-based sorbents

We report on the use of the polyethylenimine-based (PEI) sorbents for immobilization and harvesting of microalgae (MA) cells. Specific materials assessed were porous solid polymers from highly-branched PEI synthesized by cross-linking with epichlorohydrin (ECH) or diethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (DGDE). We estimated the effect of PEI/cross-linker ratio on the MA attachment and biocompatibility of the sorbents with the MA cells. A decrease in the cross-linker percentage resulted in the enhancement of the immobilization efficiency but impaired the cell viability as was manifested by inhibition of the photosynthetic activity of the MA cells. The rate of Chlorella vulgaris cell attachment to the sorbents with ECH was faster as compared to that of the PEI-DGDE-based polymers. The cells immobilized on the PEI-ECH sorbents showed a more profound decline in their viability (assessed via photosynthetic activity). The sorbents with 60% of DGDE were characterized by high immobilization efficiency. These sorbents supported a prolonged cultivation of the immobilized MA without impairing their viability and metabolic activity. We conclude that the sorbents with a lower percentage of DGDE (<30%) and sorbents with ECH are suitable for harvesting of the MA cells intended for immediate downstream processing, potentially without the cell desorption. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on successful application of PEI-based sorbents in microalgal biotechnology.

The reactivity of the native exometabolites excreted into cultural medium by microorganisms as a criterion of compatibility for selection of mixed cultures and artificial associations

The use reactivity of native (intravital) exometabolites excreted into cultural medium by actinomycetes, cyanobacteria and microalgae as a probable ecophysiological criterion for the selection of partners for artificial mixed cultures and associative pairs of microorganisms has been considered.