A novel approach to enhance astaxanthin production in Haematococcus lacustris using a microstructure-based culture platform

The green alga Haematococcus lacustris is a freshwater unicellular microalga belonging to Chlorophyceae. It is a natural source of astaxanthin, a secondary metabolite commonly used as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Due to the expansive applications of astaxanthin, efforts to increase production are underway. In this study, a novel microfabricated culture platform was developed to physically enhance intracellular stress levels of H. lacustris. The microfabricated culture device increased the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells through physical stress, thereby inducing the production of astaxanthin. Consequently, employing the device to stress H. lacustris cells increased astaxanthin production (per cell) by up to 204%. Our novel findings in this study suggest that the microfabricated culture platform can endow mechanical stress on H. lacustris, and could serve as an attractive alternate strategy for increased astaxanthin production.