Selenium (Se) is an element with many commercial applications as well as an essential micronutrient. Dietary Se has antioxidant properties and it is known to play a role in cancer prevention. However, the general population often suffers from Se deficiency. Green algae, such as Chlorella vulgaris, cultivated in Se-enriched environment may be used as a food supplement to provide adequate levels of Se. We used Raman microspectroscopy (RS) for fast, reliable, and non-destructive measurement of Se concentration in living algal cells. We employed inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry as a reference method to RS and we found a substantial correlation between the Raman signal intensity at 252 cm-1 and total Se concentration in the studied cells. We used RS to assess the uptake of Se by living and inactivated algae and demonstrated the necessity of active cellular transport for Se accumulation. Additionally, we observed the intracellular Se being transformed into an insoluble elemental form, which we further supported by the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy imaging.

Centre Algatech Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences v v i Czech Academy of Sciences Novohradská 237 379 81 Třeboň Czech Republic

Institute of Physics Faculty of Physics Astronomy and Applied Computer Science Jagiellonian University Łojasiewicza 11 30 348 Kraków Poland

Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences v v i Czech Academy of Sciences Královopolská 147 612 64 Brno Czech Republic

Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

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