Engineered photosynthetic algae could be used within sunlight-powered sustainable chemical biofactories using a new circular production process developed at KAUSTarticle. " id="return-reference-1" href="https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/25530/high-value-harvests-from-designer-algae/#reference-1">[1]. The scalable process uses bespoke functionalized microparticles — rather than flammable organic solvents — for the critical step of harvesting the valuable chemicals that the algae produce. The microparticles are robust, reusable, and can be tailored to capture a range of chemical products.

Algae, whose metabolism has been reprogrammed to biosynthesize target chemicals in high volume, could offer a green and sustainable way to make essential products. “Our lab has several metabolically engineered algal strains that produce chemicals called terpenoids. These have potential applications ranging from cosmetics ingredients to biofuels,” says Sebastian Overmans, a postdoc in the lab of Kyle Lauersen, who led the research.

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