When AFM microscopy improves microalgae harvesting

A team from the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI - CNRS, INSA Toulouse, INRAe) and the Laboratoire d'analyse et d'architecture des systèmes du CNRS (LAAS-CNRS), in collaboration with researchers from the Université catholique de Louvain, has used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to identify the molecular mechanisms behind the flocculation of microalgae, a technique used to harvest them. This study opens the way to better control of a key stage in biofuel production. The results are published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials.

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