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URL: https://dx.doi.org/DOI:10.17504/protocols.io.8wuhxew

Authors: Jakub Nedbal

Summary: Microalgae are grown for the research on photosynthesis, biotechnology, and water-environment ecology. Specialized laboratories typically use calibrated commercial equipment, which agitates the microalgae culture by shaking or bubbling, controls the irradiance, temperature, and CO2 content. Such commercial incubators may be out of reach for some laboratories, like those not specializing in microalgae research, teaching laboratories, or laboratories in low resource settings. Our research uses microalgae cultures during the development and validation of advanced microscopy techniques. We lacked access to and the budget for a commercial incubator. We solved the problem by building a stand-alone orbital shaking incubator with an in-built variable light source and a 24-hour timer. The shaker features a homogeneously illuminated growth area of 20 cm × 15 cm, which is suitable for three T75 tissue culture flasks or four 100 ml Erlenmeyer flasks. The overall material cost was around £300 and assembly time of about two days. We tested the shaker with fresh-water microalgae Desmodesmus quadricauda and Chlorella vulgaris. Both microalgae cultures have been grown continuously for seven months in the incubator. We studied their growth under different light conditions to validate the function of the shaker. The protocol outlines the step-by-step process to the building of this microalgae shaker.

Affiliations: King's College London

External URL: https://app.labstep.com/sharelink/221d4460-8591-4ab5-ac0c-70b54c93532a

Version: 1

Publication Date: 2020

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