The processes suggested here such as spectroscopy, NMR and the patented bio-profiling process, seems to be complicated and obviously would be expensive.
Instead of these methods, will it be possible to know about the amount of triglyceride present in algae sample by simple test of saponification. Won't that give the right estimates?

Lipid profiling is important when uncertainty rules algae cultivation. Algae cells accumulate lipid during every cell cycle. Fully grown mature cells have more lipid content than young cells. lipid yield of biomass is determined both by the lipid content of the species and the amount of mature cells in the harvest. Expensive profiling should not be a parameter for determining harvest time when we have methods to ensure lipid yield. A first approach is to use an algae species of high cell lipid content. Second is to ensure that maximum number of cells in the harvest broth are fully grown mature cells. This is possible by synchronizing metabolic activities of the cells and providing alternate dark and light regimens corresponding to actual cell cycle duration of the species and by proper management of growth environment. A third approach is to introduce lipid trigger to the mature colony without cell division before harvesting. thesr are achievable by PBR design modivacation.

BioGaug, International Energy’s patented bio-profiling technology, helps in determination of the peak production of oil in algae for extraction of bio-crude. Though processes for determination of the right time to extract oil from feedstock is critical, the current methods to determine these are expensive, time consuming, unreliable and not yet commercialized.

I recently came across an interesting news that researchers from Ben Gurion University, Israel have developed a low-power Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) method that could be used for lipid profiling and estimating the lipid content of oil seeds.
Wonder if the same NMR method could be tried on algae too.

Raman spectroscopy is indeed very advantageous. The properties such as degree of unsaturation and transition temperatures of lipids are important markers for determining the engine compatibility and fuel efficiency / performance of algae biodiesel. This approach also eliminates the need for lipid extraction a slow and invasive process.

It is possible to make a direct, quantitative, in vivo lipid profiling of oil producing microalgae using single-cell laser-trapping Raman spectroscopy. The process is very much advantageous in that it also determines (quantitative) the degree of unsaturation and transition temperatures of constituent lipids within microalgae. Measurements are done by holding a single living microalgal cell with an optical trap and collecting Raman data to obtain real time data.