Estimating algal biomass is a prerequisite for monitoring growth of microalgae. Especially for large-scale production sites, the measurements must be robust, reliable, fast and easy to obtain. We compare the relevant parameters, discuss potential hurdles and provide recommendations to tackle these issues. The focus is on optical density and in vivo autofluorescence of chlorophyll, which have proven to be ideal candidates for monitoring purposes. Beyond biomass, cell vitality is also crucial for maintaining cultures. While maximizing biomass yield is often the primary consideration, some applications require adverse growth conditions for the synthesis of high-quality compounds. The non-invasive technique of pulse-amplified modulated (PAM) fluorescence measurements provides an ideal tool and is increasingly being employed due to ever more affordable devices. We compared three devices and studied the robustness of the dark fluorescence yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) at various cell densities. Although the so-called inner filter effects influence the fluorescence signal, the resulting Fv/Fm remain stable and robust over a wide range of cell densities due to mutual effects.

Biofuels Institute School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang 212013 China

Botany Department Faculty of Science Tanta University Tanta 31527 Egypt

Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology University of Vienna Djerassiplatz 1 A 1030 Vienna Austria

Institute of Environmental and Chemical Engineering University of Pardubice Studentská 573 530 12 Pardubice Czech Republic

Institute of Hydrobiology Biology Centre v v i Czech Academy of Sciences Na Sádkách 702 7 370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

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