INEXPENSIVE PRODUCTION OF UNIVERSALLY LABELLED CARBON-13 BIOMOLECULES BY ALGAE

STABLE ISOTOPES ARE WIDELY USED IN DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES ANDDISORDERS IN GASTRO-ENTEROLOGY. THEY ALSO FIND APPLICATION AS TRACERS FOR METABOLIC STUDIES. THEY ARE NON-INVASIVE AND NON-TOXIC. ALGAE FIX CO(2) AND CAN THEREFORE INCORPORATE (13)CO(2) INTO BIOMOLECULES THAT CAN BE USED AS ISOTOPIC TRACERS. ALGAL PRODUCTION OF (13)C-LABELLED TRIOLEIN, GLUCOSE AND XYLOSE WILL BE STUDIED. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE WIDELY USED IN MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS, AND CAN BEPRODUCED IN LARGE AMOUNTS BY A SINGLE ALGAL SPECIES. IN PHASE I WE WILL GROW THE ORGANISM, ISOLATE AND PURIFY GLUCOSE, XYLOSE AND TRIOLEIN AND DETERMINE THE PRODUCTION ECONOMICS. THIS WORK WILL SHOW (A) THAT STABLE ISOTOPES CAN BE PREPARED FROM ALGAE AND (B) THAT THE COST OF PRODUCTION FROM ALGAE IS SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER THAN CHEMICAL ALTERNATIVES.