An optofluidic photoreactor including an optical waveguide having an input, characterized by an evanescent optical field confined along an outer surface of the optical waveguide produced by radiation propagating in the optical waveguide, means for inputting light to the input of the optical waveguide, and a photoactive material disposed substantially only within the evanescent field. A method for optically activating a photoactive material in an optofluidic photoreactor to convert carbon dioxide and water into other molecules that may be useful as a fuel or a chemical feedstock.

An imaging system and method for microbial growth detection, counting or identification. One colony may be contrasted in an image that is not optimal for another type of colony. The system and method provides contrast from all available material through space (spatial differences), time (differences appearing over time for a given capture condition) and color space transformation using image input information over time to assess whether microbial growth has occurred for a given sample.

A structure for culturing cells includes growth medium regions on a surface of the structure. Each of the growth medium regions includes a growth medium surface configured to receive and promote growth in a cell that is being cultured. The structure includes a non-growth medium. The non-growth medium includes a non-growth medium surface configured to receive the cell that is being cultured.

One or more light sources may apply stimuli to a colony of organisms. The stimuli may include visible and non-visible light. The stimuli, taken together, may tend to favor survival of organisms that are adapted to perform photosynthesis which involves absorbing energy from infrared or ultraviolet light. In some cases, the set of stimuli may include illuminating the entire colony of organisms with green light, illuminating only a first portion of the colony with pulsed ultraviolet light, and illuminating only a second portion of the colony with pulsed infrared light.

An imaging system and method for microbial growth detection, counting or identification. One colony may be contrasted in an image that is not optimal for another type of colony. The system and method provides contrast from all available material through space (spatial differences), time (differences appearing over time for a given capture condition) and color space transformation using image input information over time to assess whether microbial growth has occurred for a given sample.

System and method for growing and harvesting algae. A plurality of growing trays containing growing medium for growing algae are arranged for flow of the growing medium sequentially therethrough. A holding tray configured to hold more growing medium than any one of the plurality of growing trays receives the growing medium from the plurality of growing trays. A pump draws the growing medium from the holding tray back into the plurality of growing trays.

Disclosed herein are platforms, systems, and methods including a cell culture system that includes a cell culture container comprising a cell culture, the cell culture receiving input cells, a cell imaging subsystem configured to acquire images of the cell culture, a computing subsystem configured to perform a cell culture process on the cell culture according to the images acquired by the cell imaging subsystem, and a cell editing subsystem configured to edit the cell culture to produce output cell products according to the cell culture process.

An assembly and method to precisely and concurrently control the concentration, release, and depletion of chemical and biochemical species in localized regions in a three-dimensional volume of material using spatially patterned light. The system includes a container for holding a material comprising photo-responsive substance; the container is mounted to a motorized rotation stage that rotates the container along the z-axis at a predetermined rate; and a projector configured to project radiations at predefined wavelengths along an r-axis into the container while the container is rotating, wherein the radiations from multiple angles intersect to form localized photoreactive regions within a volume of the material.

A microbial particle is accurately counted in distinction from a non-microbial particle. A preceding-stage irradiation section 2 irradiates a sample as fluid with ultraviolet light at a preceding stage of a microbial particle counter 1. The ultraviolet light is ultraviolet light having a deep ultraviolet region, the ultraviolet light increasing the fluorescence intensity of a first autofluorescence substance in the microbial particle. The microbial particle counter 1 measures light intensity in a first wavelength range including the fluorescence wavelength of the first autofluorescence substance. In addition, the microbial particle counter 1 measures light intensity in a specific second wavelength range. Further, the microbial particle counter 1 counts the microbial particle in distinction from a non-microbial particle in the fluid based on the measured light intensity in the first wavelength range and the measured light intensity in the specific second wavelength range.

A method for controlling the kinetics of a cultured cell includes: a culture step of culturing a cell adhered to the surface of a base material including titanium oxide having an anatase structure on the surface; an irradiation step of irradiating the surface with light in a wavelength range in which the titanium oxide exhibits photocatalytic activity during culture of the cell; and a control step of controlling the kinetics of the cell by controlling the irradiation amount of the light to the surface. The wavelength range may be 400 nm or less.