Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 20, 2004
Publication Date: August 7, 2004
Citation: Evens, T.J., Niedz, R.P. 2004. ARS-media: a new software program for the analysis, design and optimization of algal culture media. Meeting Abstract.
Technical Abstract:
The success of algal culturing efforts is highly influenced by the nature of the culture medium used. In general, media formulas are complex mixtures of inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, undefined supplements, buffers and carbon sources, and with few exceptions, are modifications of recipes that were empirically derived. Media selection depends on the species of alga, the kind of culture and/or the cultural stage being undertaken. To choose or formulate an optimal media recipe it is necessary to evaluate and/or manipulate multiple ion concentrations and ratios. Also, in order to determine the importance of a single ion the user must also consider the complementary cation/anion of the parent salt. This can be a daunting task if one considers the number and variety of salts within any given recipe. Accordingly, we have developed a LabVIEW-based software package that allows users to: 1) select potential media recipes from a comprehensive database of published media recipes, 2) systematically compare multiple recipes, and 3) manipulate target recipe ion concentrations via a linear programming approach. The ARS-MEDIA program is public-domain and will be available as a stand-alone executable file after beta-testing.
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