High-throughput droplet-based screening system for investigating microalgae library

In this paper, we present a high-throughput droplet microfluidics-based screening system capable of investigating growth and oil production of numerous microalgal strain libraries. Microalgal growth was characterized by generating droplets with single microalga and monitoring the number of cells inside droplets over time. The key innovation of this platform is its on-chip staining capability of microalgae within droplets, where droplets containing microalgae were synchronized and merged together with Nile red fluorescent dye droplets, followed by droplet rinsing to minimize fluorescence background for oil quantification. The performance of the developed platform was tested using a unicellular green microalga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.