Protective effect of glycerol and PEG-methyl ether methacrylate coatings on viability of alginate-immobilized Synechococcus elongatus after cold storage

The goal of this work was to evaluate the protective effect of glycerol and PEG-methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) coatings, as well as CaCl2 concentration, on the viability of alginate-immobilized Synechococcus elongatus after cold storage. Neither the growth rate nor the generation time of alginate-immobilized S. elongatus was affected by the concentration of CaCl2 after cold preservation by refrigeration at 4 °C for 3.4 years (p > 0.05). However, the type and concentration of the coating, glycerol, or PEGMA, of the alginate beads, affected both growth rate and generation time (p