A membraneless starch/O2 biofuel cell based on bacterial surface regulable displayed sequential enzymes of glucoamylase and glucose dehydrogenase

Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) provide a new strategy to enable direct biomass-to-electricity conversion, posing considerable demand on sequential enzymes. However, artificial blend of multi-enzyme systems often suffer biocatalytic inefficiency due to the rambling mixture of catalytic units. In an attempt to construct a high-performance starch/O₂ EBFC, herein we prepared a starch-oxidizing bioanode based on displaying a sequential enzyme system of glucoamylase (GA) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) on E.coli cell surfaces in a precise way using cohesin-dockerin interactions. The enzyme stoichiometry was optimized, with GA&GDH (3:1)-E.coli exhibiting the highest catalytic reaction rate. The bioanode employed polymerized methylene blue (polyMB) to collect electrons from the oxidation of NADH into NAD⁺, which jointly oxidized starch together with co-displayed GA and GDH. The bioanode was oxygen-insensitive, which can be combined with a laccase based biocathode, resulting in a membranless starch/O₂ EBFC in a non-compartmentalized configuration. The optimal EBFC exhibited an open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.74 V, a maximum power density of 30.1 ± 2.8 μW cm^-2, and good operational stability.

Alginate-Based Smart Materials and Their Application: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Nature produces materials using available molecular building blocks following a bottom-up approach. These materials are formed with great precision and flexibility in a controlled manner. This approach offers the inspiration for manufacturing new artificial materials and devices. Synthetic artificial materials can find many important applications ranging from personalized therapeutics to solutions for environmental problems. Among these materials, responsive synthetic materials are capable of changing their structure and/or properties in response to external stimuli, and hence are termed "smart" materials. Herein, this review focuses on alginate-based smart materials and their stimuli-responsive preparation, fragmentation, and applications in diverse fields from drug delivery and tissue engineering to water purification and environmental remediation. In the first part of this report, we review stimuli-induced preparation of alginate-based materials. Stimuli-triggered decomposition of alginate materials in a controlled fashion is documented in the second part, followed by the application of smart alginate materials in diverse fields. Because of their biocompatibility, easy accessibility, and simple techniques of material formation, alginates can provide solutions for several present and future problems of humankind. However, new research is needed for novel alginate-based materials with new functionalities and well-defined properties for targeted applications.

PQQ-GDH - Structure, function and application in bioelectrochemistry

This review summarizes the basic features of the PQQ-GDH enzyme as one of the sugar converting biocatalysts. Focus is on the membrane -bound and the soluble form. Furthermore, the main principles of enzymatic catalysis as well as studies on the physiological importance are reviewed. A short overview is given on developments in protein engineering. The major part, however, deals with the different fields of application in bioelectrochemistry. This includes approaches for enzyme-electrode communication such as direct electron transfer, mediator-based systems, redox polymers or conducting polymers and holoenzyme reconstitution, and covers applied areas such as biosensing, biofuel cells, recycling schemes, enzyme competition, light-directed sensing, switchable detection schemes, logical operations by enzyme electrodes and immune sensing.

Enzyme-based logic systems interfaced with signal-responsive materials and electrodes

Enzyme-based biocomputing systems were interfaced with signal-responsive membranes and electrodes resulting in bioelectronic devices switchable by logically processed biomolecular signals. "Smart" membranes, electrodes, biofuel cells, memristors and substance-releasing systems were activated by various combinations of biomolecular signals in the pre-programmed way implemented in biocatalytic cascades mimicking logic networks.

Substance Release Triggered by Biomolecular Signals in Bioelectronic Systems

A new approach to bioelectronic Sense-and-Act systems was developed with the use of modified electrodes performing sensing and substance-releasing functions. The sensing electrode was activated by biomolecular/biological signals ranging from small biomolecules to proteins and bacterial cells. The activated sensing electrode generated reductive potential and current, which stimulated dissolution of an Fe(3+)-cross-linked alginate matrix on the second connected electrode resulting in the release of loaded biochemical species with different functionalities. Drug-mimicking species, antibacterial drugs, and enzymes activating a biofuel cell were released and tested for various biomedical and biotechnological applications. The studied systems offer great versatility for future applications in controlled drug release and personalized medicine. Their future applications in implantable devices with autonomous operation are proposed.

Functionalizing Soft Matter for Molecular Communication

The information age was enabled by advances in microfabrication and communication theory that allowed information to be processed by electrons and transmitted by electromagnetic radiation. Despite immense capabilities, microelectronics has limited abilities to access and participate in the molecular-based communication that characterizes our biological world. Here, we use biological materials and methods to create components and fabricate devices to perform simple molecular communication functions based on bacterial quorum sensing (QS). Components were created by protein engineering to generate a multidomain fusion protein capable of sending a molecular QS signal, and by synthetic biology to engineer E. coli to receive and report this QS signal. The device matrix was formed using stimuli-responsive hydrogel-forming biopolymers (alginate and gelatin). Assembly of the components within the device matrix was achieved by physically entrapping the cell-based components, and covalently conjugating the protein-based components using the enzyme microbial transglutaminase. We demonstrate simple devices that can send or receive a molecular QS signal to/from the surrounding medium, and a two-component device in which one component generates the signal (i.e., issues a command) that is acted upon by the second component. These studies illustrate the broad potential of biofabrication to generate molecular communication devices.