Light-Powered Sequential Manipulation of Microalgal Lipid Bioprocessing via an Artificial Photoactive Membrane Antenna

Abstract

Microalgal biodiesel production is constrained by inefficient lipid biosynthesis and energy-intensive harvesting process.Here, we report a cationic amphiphilic photoactive antenna TPyD with aggregation-induced emission, which programs microalgae to overcome these challenges. TPyD assembles into algal cell membranes through its cationic pyridinium moiety and hydrophobic decyl chain, creating a biohybrid system capable of on-demand functional switching. Under photosynthetic light, TPyD acts as a blue-to-red light converter and endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger on the algal membrane to enhance photosynthesis and lipid biosynthesis. Under high light, it switches to a photosensitizer, generating in situ ROS to disrupt membrane integrity for lipid release. At elevated concentrations, TPyD also triggers algal flocculation by modulating surface potential. Consequently, by simply tuning light and TPyD levels, this biohybrid orchestrates a sequential regulation of lipid biosynthesis, cell collection, and lipid release, achieving a ~200% increase in lipid yield. This work establishes an all-in-one, solar-driven platform for lipid bioprocessing, presenting an energy-efficient strategy for sustainable biodiesel production.