Fateme Mirakhorli
![Fateme Mirakhorli](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_large_x1/public/2023-01/sci-c3-Fateme-Mirakhorli.jpg?itok=9wumrfW-)
Project Title: Integrated Microfluidic Systems for Algal Research
Principal supervisor: Peter Ralph
Co-Supervisor: Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
Contact Detail: Fateme.Mirakhorli@student.uts.edu.au
Project Background: Global warming as a result of high energy consumption (population growth) and the depletion of fossil fuels leads to considerable efforts for the evolution of renewable energy sources. Algae cells are considered a significant alternative source of energy. These species have such advantages as high efficiency of photosynthesis, rapid growth, high oil productivity, as well as minimum demand for arable lands and freshwater. Despite all these significant potentials, the overall cost of algae products/biofuels is relatively high and needs to be adequately addressed. To harness the potential energy within the algae cells, they are grown to produce biomass, then conventionally harvested and processed to extract the final desired product. These steps are primarily time-consuming, labour-intensive, and are prone to human errors where the algae cells do not survive, so that they should be grown afresh.
With the advancement in microfabrication and nanotechnology, microfluidic technology has emerged as an alternative to improve upon conventional techniques. Microfluidic techniques are grounded on the unique characteristics of microscale flow phenomena and have recently gained prominence as efficient tools for the manipulation of microorganisms at the single-cell level.
Project aims: In this project, we propose designing, fabricating, and optimising fully integrated microfluidic platforms for high throughput microalgae isolation, purification, and harvesting. This project is dedicated to taking steps toward new green solutions and techniques to pave the way for harnessing microalgal power.