Rapid Screening Assays for Optimizing Biofuel Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass and Algae

Presenter: Paul Held, BioTek Instruments, Winooski, VT

Ethanol from the digestion of lignocellulosic biomass and biodiesel produced from the lipids of algae have become the most promising alternative biofuels. While these alternative fuels offer many potential advantages, significant amounts of research are still required in order to make them an economically viable option. Unfortunately research towards these goals has not extensively utilized the tool of high throughput screening using microplates that has been successfully employed in the field of drug discovery. In this webinar we will demonstrate the use of microplates in biofuel research for: 1. Optimization of the enzymatic digestion of lignocellulosic biomass 2. Determination of algal cell growth 3. Quantitation of neutral lipid production by algae.