Researchers from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) have developed a new technology capable of detecting and analyzing the electrical signals produced by populations of marine microalgae, opening new possibilities for monitoring.
The new technology transforms apparently random electrical fluctuations into information about populations of living microalgae, opening new possibilities for environmental monitoring, aquaculture, and bioelectrochemical systems, according to FCTUC in a press release sent today to the Lusa agency.
The study, led by researchers from the Bioelectronics & Bioenergy Research Lab, the Center for Functional Ecology and the TERRA Associated Laboratory, integrated in the Department of Life Sciences at FCTUC, focuses on the marine microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum, an organism used as a model in scientific research.
According to FCTUC, the team developed a three-dimensional electrode, with a porous structure and very low electrical impedance, which allows a more efficient connection between the ionic processes of the cells and the electrical signals measured by the device.
“This configuration makes it possible to identify electrical fluctuations associated with the activity of the microalgae that are difficult to observe through conventional techniques.”
The researchers demonstrated that the presence of living cells significantly alters the electrical fluctuations recorded by the system and they also found that, as the concentration of microalgae increases, the statistical characteristics of the detected electrical signals change.
The results indicate that the so-called electrochemical ‘noise’ may contain information about the biological activity of the cells.
“We are accustomed to thinking of electrical noise as something that should be eliminated. What we show is precisely the opposite: these fluctuations can contain information about the state and dynamics of a living population. It is like gaining a new window to observe biological processes that, until now, were virtually invisible electrically,” said the project coordinator Paulo Rocha.
According to the FCTUC lecturer, in the long term this approach could help to “understand how populations of microorganisms respond to environmental changes and how collective dynamics emerge in these communities.”
“It could also inspire new monitoring technologies for aquatic ecology, aquaculture, water quality, and bioelectrochemical systems,” he added.
