Effect of UV-C Irradiation on Growth, Photosynthetic Pigments, and Lipid Profile of Chlorella sorokiniana.

Abstract

Chlorella sorokiniana holds significant industrial relevance owing to its lipid profile. Consequently, the objective of this investigation was to enhance growth, lipid content, and photosynthetic pigment production through the application of UV-C irradiation. The growth parameters of microalgae demonstrated an increase in response to concentration. After 35 days of incubation, cells exposed to UV-C for 8 min produced the most biomass at 2.2 g/l. Additionally, the chlorophyll content demonstrated a comparable pattern, with the highest concentrations of chlorophyll a (4.99 mg/l), chlorophyll b (6.22 mg/l), and total chlorophyll (11.21 mg/l) observed in cells incubated for 35 days and exposed to UV-C for 8 min. The lipid profile, nevertheless, demonstrated minor fluctuations. Specifically, the relative abundance of frequently occurring lipid compounds was found to be greater in cells treated with UV-C compared to the control group, and the most significant increase was obtained in 15-day culture exposed to UV-C for 8 min. However, after 35 days of incubation, this abundance decreased in cells exposed to UV-C for more than 4 min. Additionally, the observation of specific lipid compounds presented solely in cells obtained from algal cultures treated with UV-C was made. Consequently, drawing from the results obtained in the current investigation, it is possible to deduce that UV-C can be utilised to augment the overall development and yield of significant metabolites in microalgae. Furthermore, these microalgae can be converted into single-cell bioreactors to facilitate the production of lipids utilised in a variety of applications, a process that could be refined to cater to industrial demands.