Das Lehrgebiet BioVT publiziert in der Zeitschrift Life im Special Issue Biology of Microalgae and Cyanobacteria and Their Biotechnological Potential  unter dem Titel "Characterization of an aerosol-based photobioreactor for cultivation of phototrophic biofilms" die Optimierung und Charakterisierung eines aerosol-basierten Photobioreaktors zur Kultivierung von terrestrischen Cyanobakterien.

Phototrophic biofilms, in particular terrestrial cyanobacteria, offer a variety of biotechnologically interesting products such as natural dyes, antibiotics or dietary supplements. However, phototrophic biofilms are difficult to cultivate in submerged bioreactors. A new generation of biofilm photobioreactors imitates the natural habitat resulting in higher productivity. In this work, an aerosol-based photobioreactor is presented that was characterized for the cultivation of phototrophic biofilms. Experiments and simulation of aerosol distribution showed a uniform aerosol supply of biofilms. Compared to previous prototypes, the growth of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. could be almost tripled. Different surfaces for biofilm growth were investigated regarding hydrophobicity, contact angle, light- and temperature distribution. Further, the results were successfully simulated. Finally, the growth of Nostoc sp. was investigated on different surfaces and biofilm thickness was measured non-invasive using optical coherence tomography. It could be shown that cultivation surface had no influence on biomass production but on biofilm thickness.

D. Strieth, A. Weber, J. Robert, J. Stiefelmaier, J. Kollmen, M. Volkmar, M. Lakatos, V. Jordan, K. Muffler, R. ulber (2021); Characterization of an aerosol-based photobioreactor for cultivation of phototrophic biofilms, J. of Life, im Druck