Cell to substratum and cell to cell interactions of microalgae

- Acid-base interactions are the dominating mechanism of interaction for microalgae.
- All hydrophobic green algae showed adhesion at primary minimum without any energy barrier.
- Most diatom-substrata systems featured energy barriers due to repulsive van der Waals interactions.
- Hydrophilic algae and substrata minimizes flocculation and biofouling of surfaces.
- Hydrophobic algae species show promise as bioflocculant for algae biomass harvesting.