Light-switchable deposits from evaporating drops containing motile microalgae
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Coupling Carbon Capture from a Power Plant with Semi-automated Open Raceway Ponds for Microalgae Cultivation
Published on: August 14, 2020
Marius R Bittermann1, Daniel Bonn1, Sander Woutersen2
1Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.r.bittermann@uva.nl a.deblais@uva.nl.
Abstract:
Deposits from evaporating drops have been shown to take a variety of shapes, depending on the physicochemical properties of both solute and solvent. Classically, the evaporation of drops of colloidal suspensions leads to the so-called coffee ring effect, caused by radially outward flows. Here we investigate deposits from evaporating drops containing living motile microalgae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), which are capable of resisting these flows. We show that utilizing their light-sensitivity allows control of the final pattern: adjusting the wavelength and incident angle of the light source enables forcing the formation, completely suppressing and even directing the spatial structure of algal coffee rings.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Green Algae
Other Algae
Red Algae
Overview of Algae
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...

