Bioprospecting photosynthetic microorganisms for the removal of endocrine disruptor compounds.

Endocrine disruption compounds can be found in various daily products, like pesticides, along with cosmetic and pharmaceutical commodities. Moreover, occurrence of EDCs in the wastewater alarms the urgency for their removal before discharge owing to the harmful effect for the environment and human health. Compared to implementation of physical and chemical strategies, cultivation of photosynthetic microorganisms has been acknowledged for their high efficiency and eco-friendly process in EDCs removal along with accumulation of valuable byproducts. During the process, photosynthetic microorganisms remove EDCs via photodegradation, bio-adsorption, -accumulation, and -degradation. Regarding their high tolerance in extreme environment, photosynthetic microorganisms have high feasibility for implementation in wastewater treatment plant. However, several considerations are critical for their scaling up process. This review discussed the potency of EDCs removal by photosynthetic microorganisms and focused on the efficiency, mechanism, challenge, along with the prospect. Details on the mechanism's pathway, accumulation of valuable byproducts, and recent progress in scaling up and application in real wastewater were also projected in this review.

Use of magnetic fields and nitrate concentration to optimize the growth and lipid yield of Nannochloropsis oculata.

Microalgae produce increased lipid content accompanied by a significant decrease in cell density with decreasing nitrate concentration. Magnetic fields (MF) have been reported as a factor that could accelerate metabolism and growth in microalgae culture. Thus, this study aimed to optimize the influence of MF and nitrate concentration (sodium nitrate, N) on the growth and lipid productivity of Nannochloropsis oculata. A single-factor experiment integrated with response surface methodology (RSM) via central composite design (CCD) was performed. The results showed that the maximum specific growth rate (0.24 d-1) and maximum lipid productivity (38 mg L-1 d-1) obtained in this study were higher than those of the control culture (by 166% and 103%, respectively). This study also found that the two-way interaction term MF × N had a significant effect on cell growth but not on lipid production. It was concluded that to design appropriate MF for enhanced lipid productivity due to cell growth, further research must focus on developing an understanding of the relationship between the bioeffects of the magnetic field and the proteomic changes involved in lipid accumulation strategies. This approach would enable the design of conditions to obtain inexpensive high-value products from N. oculata.