The economic and/or energetic feasibility of processes based on using microalgae biomass requires an efficient cultivation system. In photobioreactors (PBRs), the adhesion of microalgae to the transparent PBR surfaces leads to biofouling and reduces the solar radiation penetrating the PBR. Light reduction within the PBR decreases biomass productivity and, therefore, the photosynthetic efficiency of the cultivation system. Additionally, PBR biofouling leads to a series of further undesirable events including changes in cell pigmentation, culture degradation, and contamination by invasive microorganisms; all of which can result in the cultivation process having to be stopped. Designing PBR surfaces with proper materials, functional groups or surface coatings, to prevent microalgal adhesion is essential for solving the biofouling problem. Such a significant advance in microalgal biotechnology would enable extended operational periods at high productivity and reduce maintenance costs. In this paper, we review the few systematic studies performed so far and applied the existing thermodynamic and colloidal theories for microbial biofouling formation in order to understand microalgal adhesion on PBR surfaces and the microalgae–microalgae cell interactions. Their relationship to the physicochemical properties of the solid PBR surface, the microalgae cell surfaces, and the ionic strength of the culture medium is discussed. The suitability and the applicability of such theories are reviewed. To this end, an example of biofouling formation on a commercial glass surface is presented for the marine microalgae Nannochloropsis gaditana. It highlights the adhesion dynamics and the inaccuracies of the process and the need for further refinement of previous theories so as to apply them to flowing systems, such as is the case for PBRs used to culture microalgae.

Benthic marine dioflagellate microalgae belonging to the genus Prorocentrum are a major source of okadaic acid (OA), OA analogues and polyketides. However, dinoflagellates produce these valuable toxins and bioactives in tiny quantities, and they grow slowly compared to other commercially used microalgae. This hinders evaluation in possible large-scale applications. The careful selection of producer species is therefore crucial for success in a hypothetical scale-up of culture, as are appropriate environmental conditions for optimal growth. A clone of the marine toxic dinoflagellate P. belizeanum was studied in vitro to evaluate its capacities to grow and produce OA as an indicator of general polyketide toxin production under the simultaneous influence of temperature (T) and irradiance (I₀). Three temperatures and four irradiance levels were tested (18, 25 and 28 °C; 20, 40, 80 and 120 µE·m⁻²·s⁻¹), and the response variables measured were concentration of cells, maximum photochemical yield of photosystem II (PSII), pigments and OA. Experiments were conducted in T-flasks, since their parallelepipedal geometry proved ideal to ensure optically thin cultures, which are essential for reliable modeling of growth-irradiance curves. The net maximum specific growth rate (µ_m) was 0.204 day⁻¹ at 25 °C and 40 µE·m⁻²·s⁻¹. Photo-inhibition was observed at I₀ > 40 μEm⁻²s⁻¹, leading to culture death at 120 µE·m⁻²·s⁻¹ and 28 °C. Cells at I₀ ≥ 80 µE·m⁻²·s⁻¹ were photoinhibited irrespective of the temperature assayed. A mechanistic model for µ_m-I₀ curves and another empirical model for relating µ_m-T satisfactorily interpreted the growth kinetics obtained. ANOVA for responses of PSII maximum photochemical yield and pigment profile has demonstrated that P. belizeanum is extremely light sensitive. The pool of photoprotective pigments (diadinoxanthin and dinoxanthin) and peridinin was not able to regulate the excessive light-absorption at high I₀-T. OA synthesis in cells was decoupled from optimal growth conditions, as OA overproduction was observed at high temperatures and when both temperature and irradiance were low. T-flask culture observations were consistent with preliminary assays outdoors.