Date of Award

4-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Department

Electrical Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Mahmoud F. Al Ahmad

Second Advisor

Dr. Bassam Ali

Third Advisor

Dr. Emmanouil M Tentzeris

Abstract

Microalgae have the potential to be used as a main source of renewable energy in the future due to their lipid contents. Microalgae are comprised of several components including carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. This lipid and protein composition needs to be quantified so the amount of usable energy can be measured. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis is to develop an image processing technique for the quantification of lipid and protein contents in single microalgal cell.

This image processing technique has made lipid quantification an easier process as compared to previous methods used to quantify lipid content. The technique is based on staining microalgal cells with several dyes for the visualization of the lipid and protein content in a microalgal cell. The quantification is then carried out by applying image processing methods. To enhance the lipid accumulation and simultaneously reduce the protein, these microalgal cells are put under stress conditions such as nitrogen starvation. The nitrogen starvation stress condition results in alteration of the lipid and protein content inside the cells. This will significantly influence the ex vivo optimization of microalgal growth conditions for enhanced oil productivity. The image processing-based approach is then used to analyze the time course of lipid accumulation and protein reduction patterns inside the corresponding-stained microalgal cells. There are many different types of strains of microalgae. In this study, Nannochloropsis microalgal strain was used and cultivated in a nitrogen deficient medium. The intracellular Nannochloropsis cell content was estimated by mathematically evaluating the lipid and protein volume inside the corresponding-stained cell. This mathematical evaluation was made possible with the image processing technique that has been developed in this thesis. This image processing approach allows the quick characterization of microalgal cells. It also takes precedence over any techniques or methods that have been developed in the past to quantify lipid content of microalgal cells. This will be explored further in the subsequent studies.

Comments

الطحالب الدقيقة بشكل عام هي واحدة من اهم المصادر الرئيسية المثيرة للاهتمام في مجال الطاقة المتجددة الخضراء. وبالتالي من المهم و المتوقع أن يكون لدينا القدرة على فهم دورمحتوياتها في علم وظائف الخلية. ولذلك، فإن الهدف الرئيسي من هذه الأطروحة هو تطوير تقنية مبنية على معالجة الصور لتقدير محتويات الدهن والبروتين على مستوى خلية واحدة.

ويستند هذا الأسلوب الحالي على تلوين خلايا الطحلبية بمواد مشعة خاصة لتقديرنسبة الدهون والبروتين. ثم يتم القياس الكمي و النسبي من خلال طرق معالجة الصور الملتقطة من مربع المزرعة في أيام مختلفة من تحت حالة الإجهاد النيتروجين. حالة الإجهاد هده تلعب دور كبير في تغيير محتوى الدهون والبروتين داخل الخلايا.

ان إمكانات النهج التصور الحالي يسمح تقدير في خلية حية وهذا سوف يؤثر بشكل كبير على تحسين ظروف النمو الجزئي لتحسين إنتاجية الدهون كمصدر بديل للطاقة.

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