Abstract
In this study, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were used as an effective enhancer to increase the biomass and total lipid production of Chlorella sp. UJ-3. It was found that the biomass of algal cells increased significantly when they were exposed to low concentrations of Fe3O4 NPs (20 mg/L), while the best total lipid content of algal cells was achieved when they were exposed to high concentrations of Fe3O4 NPs (100 mg/L). Therefore, we established a strategy to promote the growth and lipid accumulation of microalgae by initially exposing the algal cells to low concentrations of Fe3O4 NPs and then treating them with an increased concentration of Fe3O4 NPs after 12 days of culture. For this strategy, the biomass and total lipid production of algal cells increased by 50% and 108.7%, respectively, compared to the untreated control. The increase in lipid production and change in the fatty acid composition of Chlorella cells were found to help them to cope with the increased number of reactive oxygen species produced due to oxidative stress in alga cells after the addition of Fe3O4 NPs. This study provided a highly efficient way to improve the lipid production of microalgae using nanoparticles.
Highlights
With the rapid development of nanotechnology in recent years, nanoparticles (NPs) have exhibited various special properties due to their extremely small size, such as the surface effect, quantum size effect, small size effect, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect
TiO2 NPs were found to have a positive effect on the production of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) in Pichia pastoris to fight against oxidative stress [9]
The biomass of algal cultures decreased at higher concentrations of Fe3 O4 NPs, the total lipid production increased due to the increase in total lipid content
Summary
With the rapid development of nanotechnology in recent years, nanoparticles (NPs) have exhibited various special properties due to their extremely small size, such as the surface effect, quantum size effect, small size effect, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect. It was found that the use of an appropriate concentration of NPs was beneficial to the growth of biological cells and the synthesis of target products [4,5]. It was reported that nanoparticles could promote the growth of barley, wheat, and Zea mays [6,7,8]. Trace amounts of Se NPs were reported to promote the growth of Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans in a dose-dependent manner and had a strong stimulatory effect on the growth of Aspergillus niger [10]. SiO2 NPs were able to enhance the growth and lipid production of Chlorella vulgaris [11], while SiC and g-C3 N4 NPs improved the Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 2802.
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