High-resolution holographic reconstruction combined with fluorescence microscopy to identify unwanted Chlorella sp. cells in Haematococcus pluvialis cultures

This study evaluated the performance of HOLODETECT HiRes + FLUOR3, a laboratory instrument designed for detecting and counting small particles or cells in fluids using fluorescence. The test species were Haematococcus pluvialis and Chlorella sorokiniana because of their industrial importance in the functional food markets, and because they have been identified growing in co-culture, especially when the goal is to produce H . pluvialis . Initial trials focused on optimising the operating conditions to ensure accurate and reproducible measurements. The equipment demonstrated a low coefficient of variation (