Label-free non-invasive quantitative measurement of lipid contents in individual microalgal cells using refractive index tomography

Microalgae are promising candidates for biofuel production due to their high lipid content. To facilitate utilization of the microalgae for biofuel, rapid quantification of the lipid contents in microalgae is necessary. However, conventional methods based on the chemical extraction of lipids require a time-consuming destructive extraction process. Here, we demonstrate label-free, non-invasive, rapid quantification of the lipid contents in individual micro-algal cells measuring the three-dimensional refractive index tomograms. We measure three-dimensional refractive index distributions within Nannochloropsis oculata cells and find that lipid droplets are identifiable in tomograms by their high refractive index. In addition, we alter N. oculata under nitrogen deficiency by measuring the volume, lipid weight, and dry cell weight of individual cells. Characterization of individual cells allows correlative analysis between the lipid content and size of individual cells.