Abstract:
Motile cells called Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) are swimming microalgae that have potential to be a viable source of biofuel. C. reinhardtii has also received considerable attention in recent years as a model organism for light gated ion channel channelrhodopsin, Ca2+ signaling and flagella movements. The influence of environmental factors on microalgae growth such as light and pH has been studied extensively but the role of mechanical interaction between the swimming microalgae with their physical environment on cell growth still remains unclear. However, recent studies found that membrane distortion in C. reinhardtii plays an important role in cell cycle and lipid metabolism [1] and contact interaction is a dominating factor for surface scattering behaviors of the cells [2]. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate mechanical interaction of microalgae C. reinhardtii with solid surfaces using explicit dynamic contact mechanics algorithm.