Detection Of Size Spectrum Of Microalgae Cells Based On Microfluidic Chip

Size spectrum of biological particles directly affects nutrient cycling and energy flow distribution of marine ecosystems. Fast and accurate detection of the size and distribution of microalgae plays a very important role for in-depth study of physiological characteristics of marine phytoplankton community structure and function. At present, the method of detecting the particle size of microalgae can not simultaneously meet the underwater in-situ detection and detection of marine microorganisms and small size, simple and convenient, cheap price. In this paper, a novel detection method and system of size spectrum and species of microalgae cells on a microfluidic chip is presented. The main idea of the device is combining microfluidic chip technology with photoelectric detection and resistance pulse sensor (RPS) technology to determine the particle size and species of microalgae cells, and even the activity and quantity of information. According to the detection target, inside a waterproof case, the system mainly comprises an detection unit, a sample acquisition module and a module performing data acquisition, data processing and system control. To demonstrate the performance of the developed system, experiments were conducted with three species of microalgae cells (Isochrysis galbana, Dunaliella salina and Tetraselmis chui), typical phytoplankton cells in marine environments, as samples. Comparison experiments between the developed detection system and a commercial flow cytometer were conducted. The results demonstrate that the developed system is reliable and accurate.