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Balancing cellular redox metabolism in microbial electrosynthesis and electro fermentation - A chance for metabolic engineering. Metab Eng 2017; 45:109-120. [PMID: 29229581 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2017.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
More and more microbes are discovered that are capable of extracellular electron transfer, a process in which they use external electrodes as electron donors or acceptors for metabolic reactions. This feature can be used to overcome cellular redox limitations and thus optimizing microbial production. The technologies, termed microbial electrosynthesis and electro-fermentation, have the potential to open novel bio-electro production platforms from sustainable energy and carbon sources. However, the performance of reported systems is currently limited by low electron transport rates between microbes and electrodes and our limited ability for targeted engineering of these systems due to remaining knowledge gaps about the underlying fundamental processes. Metabolic engineering offers many opportunities to optimize these processes, for instance by genetic engineering of pathways for electron transfer on the one hand and target product synthesis on the other hand. With this review, we summarize the status quo of knowledge and engineering attempts around chemical production in bio-electrochemical systems from a microbe perspective. Challenges associated with the introduction or enhancement of extracellular electron transfer capabilities into production hosts versus the engineering of target compound synthesis pathways in natural exoelectrogens are discussed. Recent advances of the research community in both directions are examined critically. Further, systems biology approaches, for instance using metabolic modelling, are examined for their potential to provide insight into fundamental processes and to identify targets for metabolic engineering.
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Predicting and experimental evaluating bio-electrochemical synthesis — A case study with Clostridium kluyveri. Bioelectrochemistry 2017; 118:114-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2017.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Shin HJ, Jung KA, Nam CW, Park JM. A genetic approach for microbial electrosynthesis system as biocommodities production platform. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2017; 245:1421-1429. [PMID: 28550992 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.05.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Microbial electrosynthesis is a process that can produce biocommodities from the reduction of substrates with microbial catalysts and an external electron supply. This process is expected to become a new application of a cell factory for novel chemical production, wastewater treatment, and carbon capture and utilization. However, microbial electrosynthesis is still subject to several problems that need to be overcome for commercialization, so continuous development such as metabolic engineering is essential. The development of microbial electrosynthesis can open up new opportunities for sustainable biocommodities production platforms. This review provides significant information on the current state of MES development, focusing on extracellularly electron transfer and metabolic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyo Jeong Shin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea
| | - Kyung A Jung
- Bioenergy Research Center, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea
| | - Chul Woo Nam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea
| | - Jong Moon Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea; Bioenergy Research Center, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea; Division of Advanced Nuclear Engineering, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang 37673, South Korea.
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54
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Fukushima T, Gupta S, Rad B, Cornejo JA, Petzold CJ, Chan LJG, Mizrahi RA, Ralston CY, Ajo-Franklin CM. The Molecular Basis for Binding of an Electron Transfer Protein to a Metal Oxide Surface. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:12647-12654. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b06560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Fukushima
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Sayan Gupta
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Behzad Rad
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jose A. Cornejo
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Christopher J. Petzold
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Leanne Jade G. Chan
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Rena A. Mizrahi
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Corie Y. Ralston
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin
- Molecular Foundry, Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Biosciences, and Biological Systems and
Engineering Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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Kumar G, Saratale RG, Kadier A, Sivagurunathan P, Zhen G, Kim SH, Saratale GD. A review on bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) for the syngas and value added biochemicals production. CHEMOSPHERE 2017; 177:84-92. [PMID: 28284119 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.02.135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2016] [Revised: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) are the microbial systems which are employed to produce electricity directly from organic wastes along with some valuable chemicals production such as medium chain fatty acids; acetate, butyrate and alcohols. In this review, recent updates about value-added chemicals production concomitantly with the production of gaseous fuels like hydrogen and methane which are considered as cleaner for the environment have been addressed. Additionally, the bottlenecks associated with the conversion rates, lower yields and other aspects have been mentioned. In spite of its infant stage development, this would be the future trend of energy, biochemicals and electricity production in greener and cleaner pathway with the win-win situation of organic waste remediation. Henceforth, this review intends to summarise and foster the progress made in the BESs and discusses its challenges and outlook on future research advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gopalakrishnan Kumar
- Sustainable Environmental Process Research Institute, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38453, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Engineering, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38453, Republic of Korea
| | - Rijuta Ganesh Saratale
- Research Institute of Biotechnology and Medical Converged Science, Dongguk University-Seoul, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10326, Republic of Korea
| | - Abudukeremu Kadier
- Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, National University of Malaysia (UKM), 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Periyasamy Sivagurunathan
- Center for Materials Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Guangyin Zhen
- Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Rd. 500, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Sang-Hyoun Kim
- Sustainable Environmental Process Research Institute, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38453, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Engineering, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38453, Republic of Korea
| | - Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale
- Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Dongguk University-Seoul, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10326, Republic of Korea.
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56
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Förster AH, Beblawy S, Golitsch F, Gescher J. Electrode-assisted acetoin production in a metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strain. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2017; 10:65. [PMID: 28293295 PMCID: PMC5348906 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0745-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This paper describes the metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the anaerobic fermentation of glucose to acetoin. Acetoin has well-established applications in industrial food production and was suggested to be a platform chemical for a bio-based economy. However, the biotechnological production is often hampered by the simultaneous formation of several end products in the absence of an electron acceptor. Moreover, typical production strains are often potentially pathogenic. The goal of this study was to overcome these limitations by establishing an electrode-assisted fermentation process in E. coli. Here, the surplus of electrons released in the production process is transferred to an electrode as anoxic and non-depletable electron acceptor. RESULTS In a first step, the central metabolism was steered towards the production of pyruvate from glucose by deletion of genes encoding for enzymes of central reactions of the anaerobic carbon metabolism (ΔfrdA-D ΔadhE ΔldhA Δpta-ack). Thereafter, the genes for the acetolactate synthase (alsS) and the acetolactate decarboxylase (alsD) were expressed in this strain from a plasmid. Addition of nitrate as electron acceptor led to an anaerobic acetoin production with a yield of up to 0.9 mol acetoin per mol of glucose consumed (90% of the theoretical maximum). In a second step, the electron acceptor nitrate was replaced by a carbon electrode. This interaction necessitated the further expression of c-type cytochromes from Shewanella oneidensis and the addition of the soluble redox shuttle methylene blue. The interaction with the non-depletable electron acceptor led to an acetoin formation with a yield of 79% of the theoretical maximum (0.79 mol acetoin per mol glucose). CONCLUSION Electrode-assisted fermentations are a new strategy to produce substances of biotechnological value that are more oxidized than the substrates. Here, we show for the first time a process in which the commonly used chassis strain E. coli was tailored for an electrode-assisted fermentation approach branching off from the central metabolite pyruvate. At this early stage, we see promising results regarding carbon and electron recovery and will use further strain development to increase the anaerobic metabolic turnover rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas H. Förster
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Sebastian Beblawy
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Frederik Golitsch
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Johannes Gescher
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Fritz-Haber-Weg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
- Department of Microbiology of Natural and Technical Interfaces, Institute of Functional Interfaces, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Resilience, Dynamics, and Interactions within a Model Multispecies Exoelectrogenic-Biofilm Community. Appl Environ Microbiol 2017; 83:AEM.03033-16. [PMID: 28087529 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03033-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Anode-associated multispecies exoelectrogenic biofilms are essential for the function of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). The individual activities of anode-associated organisms and physiological responses resulting from coculturing are often hard to assess due to the high microbial diversity in these systems. Therefore, we developed a model multispecies biofilm comprising three exoelectrogenic proteobacteria, Shewanella oneidensis, Geobacter sulfurreducens, and Geobacter metallireducens, with the aim to study in detail the biofilm formation dynamics, the interactions between the organisms, and the overall activity of an exoelectrogenic biofilm as a consequence of the applied anode potential. The experiments revealed that the organisms build a stable biofilm on an electrode surface that is rather resilient to changes in the redox potential of the anode. The community operated at maximum electron transfer rates at electrode potentials that were higher than 0.04 V versus a normal hydrogen electrode. Current densities decreased gradually with lower potentials and reached half-maximal values at -0.08 V. Transcriptomic results point toward a positive interaction among the individual strains. S. oneidensis and G. sulfurreducens upregulated their central metabolisms as a response to cultivation under mixed-species conditions. G. sulfurreducens was detected in the planktonic phase of the bioelectrochemical reactors in mixed-culture experiments but not when it was grown in the absence of the other two organisms.IMPORTANCE In many cases, multispecies communities can convert organic substrates into electric power more efficiently than axenic cultures, a phenomenon that remains unresolved. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the potential mutual effects of multispecies communities in bioelectrochemical systems to understand how microbes interact in the coculture anodic network and to improve the community's conversion efficiency for organic substrates into electrical energy. The results reveal positive interactions that might lead to accelerated electron transfer in mixed-species anode communities. The observations made within this model biofilm might be applicable to a variety of nonaxenic systems in the field.
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58
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Mardanpour MM, Yaghmaei S. Dynamical Analysis of Microfluidic Microbial Electrolysis Cell via Integrated Experimental Investigation and Mathematical Modeling. Electrochim Acta 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.01.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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59
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Kim C, Kim MY, Michie I, Jeon BH, Premier GC, Park S, Kim JR. Anodic electro-fermentation of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol by recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae L17 in a bioelectrochemical system. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2017; 10:199. [PMID: 28824709 PMCID: PMC5561608 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0886-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND 3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical which can be produced biologically from glycerol. Klebsiella pneumoniae is an ideal biocatalyst for 3-HP because it can grow well on glycerol and naturally synthesize the essential coenzyme B12. On the other hand, if higher yields and titers of 3-HP are to be achieved, the sustained regeneration of NAD+ under anaerobic conditions, where coenzyme B12 is synthesized sustainably, is required. RESULTS In this study, recombinant K. pneumoniae L17 overexpressing aldehyde dehydrogenase (AldH) was developed and cultured in a bioelectrochemical system (BES) with the application of an electrical potential to the anode using a chronoamperometric method (+0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The BES operation resulted in 1.7-fold enhancement of 3-HP production compared to the control without the applied potential. The intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio was significantly lower when the L17 cells were grown under an electric potential. The interaction between the electrode and overexpressed AldH was enhanced by electron shuttling mediated by HNQ (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone). CONCLUSIONS Enhanced 3-HP production by the BES was achieved using recombinant K. pneumoniae L17. The quinone-based electron transference between the electrode and L17 was investigated by respiratory uncoupler experiments. This study provides a novel strategy to control the intracellular redox states to enhance the yield and titer of 3-HP production as well as other bioconversion processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changman Kim
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 Republic of Korea
| | - Mi Yeon Kim
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 Republic of Korea
| | - Iain Michie
- Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan CF37 1DL UK
| | - Byong-Hun Jeon
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 133-791 Republic of Korea
| | - Giuliano C. Premier
- Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan CF37 1DL UK
| | - Sunghoon Park
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 Republic of Korea
| | - Jung Rae Kim
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 Republic of Korea
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60
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Hintermayer S, Yu S, Krömer JO, Weuster-Botz D. Anodic respiration of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 in a stirred-tank bioreactor. Biochem Eng J 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2016.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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61
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Moscoviz R, Toledo-Alarcón J, Trably E, Bernet N. Electro-Fermentation: How To Drive Fermentation Using Electrochemical Systems. Trends Biotechnol 2016; 34:856-865. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2016.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Revised: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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62
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Jensen HM, TerAvest MA, Kokish MG, Ajo-Franklin CM. CymA and Exogenous Flavins Improve Extracellular Electron Transfer and Couple It to Cell Growth in Mtr-Expressing Escherichia coli. ACS Synth Biol 2016; 5:679-88. [PMID: 27000939 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5b00279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Introducing extracellular electron transfer pathways into heterologous organisms offers the opportunity to explore fundamental biogeochemical processes and to biologically alter redox states of exogenous metals for various applications. While expression of the MtrCAB electron nanoconduit from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 permits extracellular electron transfer in Escherichia coli, the low electron flux and absence of growth in these cells limits their practicality for such applications. Here we investigate how the rate of electron transfer to extracellular Fe(III) and cell survival in engineered E. coli are affected by mimicking different features of the S. oneidensis pathway: the number of electron nanoconduits, the link between the quinol pool and MtrA, and the presence of flavin-dependent electron transfer. While increasing the number of pathways does not significantly improve the extracellular electron transfer rate or cell survival, using the native inner membrane component, CymA, significantly improves the reduction rate of extracellular acceptors and increases cell viability. Strikingly, introducing both CymA and riboflavin to Mtr-expressing E. coli also allowed these cells to couple metal reduction to growth, which is the first time an increase in biomass of an engineered E. coli has been observed under Fe2O3 (s) reducing conditions. Overall, this work provides engineered E. coli strains for modulating extracellular metal reduction and elucidates critical factors for engineering extracellular electron transfer in heterologous organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M. Jensen
- Physical
Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Michaela A. TerAvest
- California
Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Mark G. Kokish
- Materials
Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin
- Physical
Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Materials
Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Synthetic Biology Institute, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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Gimkiewicz C, Hunger S, Harnisch F. Evaluating the Feasibility of Microbial Electrosynthesis Based onGluconobacter oxydans. ChemElectroChem 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.201600175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carla Gimkiewicz
- UFZ-Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research; Department of Environmental Microbiology; Permoserstraße 15 04318 Leipzig Germany
| | - Steffi Hunger
- UFZ-Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research; Center for Environmental Biotechnology; Permoserstraße 15 04318 Leipzig Germany
| | - Falk Harnisch
- UFZ-Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research; Department of Environmental Microbiology; Permoserstraße 15 04318 Leipzig Germany
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Mardanpour MM, Yaghmaei S. Characterization of a microfluidic microbial fuel cell as a power generator based on a nickel electrode. Biosens Bioelectron 2015; 79:327-33. [PMID: 26720922 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2015.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
This study reports the fabrication of a microfluidic microbial fuel cell (MFC) using nickel as a novel alternative for conventional electrodes and a non-phatogenic strain of Escherichia coli as the biocatalyst. The feasibility of a microfluidic MFC as an efficient power generator for production of bioelectricity from glucose and urea as organic substrates in human blood and urine for implantable medical devices (IMDs) was investigated. A maximum open circuit potential of 459 mV was achieved for the batch-fed microfluidic MFC. During continuous mode operation, a maximum power density of 104 Wm(-3) was obtained with nutrient broth. For the glucose-fed microfluidic MFC, the maximum power density of 5.2 μW cm(-2) obtained in this study is significantly greater than the power densities reported previously for microsized MFCs and glucose fuel cells. The maximum power density of 14 Wm(-3) obtained using urea indicates the successful performance of a microfluidic MFC using human excreta. It features high power density, self-regeneration, waste management and a low production cost (<$1), which suggest it as a promising alternative to conventional power supplies for IMDs. The performance of the microfluidic MFC as a power supply was characterized based on polarization behavior and cell potential in different substrates, operational modes, and concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mahdi Mardanpour
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11365-9465, Tehran, Iran
| | - Soheila Yaghmaei
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11365-9465, Tehran, Iran.
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65
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TerAvest MA, Ajo‐Franklin CM. Transforming exoelectrogens for biotechnology using synthetic biology. Biotechnol Bioeng 2015; 113:687-97. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.25723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michaela A. TerAvest
- California Institute for Quantitative BiosciencesUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCalifornia94720
| | - Caroline M. Ajo‐Franklin
- Physical Biosciences DivisionLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCalifornia94720
- Materials Science DivisionLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCalifornia94720
- Synthetic Biology InstituteLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCalifornia94720
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