Systems, devices, and methods for releasing one or more cell components from a photosynthetic organism. A bioreactor system is operable for growing photosynthetic organisms. Some of the methods include contacting the photosynthetic organism with an energy-activatable sensitizer, and activating the energy-activatable sensitizer, thereby releasing a cellular component from at least one of, for example, a membrane structure, tubule, vesicle, cisterna, organelle, cell compartment, plastid, or mitochondrion, associated with the photosynthetic organisms.