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Gao Y, Wu J, Xia Q, Liu J, Zhu JJ, Zhang JR, Chen X, Zhu W, Chen Z. Operando Spectroscopic Elucidation of the Bubble Sunshade Effect in Inorganic-Biological Hybrids for Photosynthetic Hydrogen Production. ACS NANO 2024; 18:14546-14557. [PMID: 38776420 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c02264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Hydrogen production by photosynthetic hybrid systems (PBSs) offers a promising avenue for renewable energy. However, the light-harvesting efficiency of PBSs remains constrained due to unclear intracellular kinetic factors. Here, we present an operando elucidation of the sluggish light-harvesting behavior for existing PBSs and strategies to circumvent them. By quantifying the spectral shift in the structural color scattering of individual PBSs during the photosynthetic process, we observe the accumulation of product hydrogen bubbles on their outer membrane. These bubbles act as a sunshade and inhibit light absorption. This phenomenon elucidates the intrinsic constraints on the light-harvesting efficiency of PBSs. The introduction of a tension eliminator into the PBSs effectively improves the bubble sunshade effect and results in a 4.5-fold increase in the light-harvesting efficiency. This work provides valuable insights into the dynamics of transmembrane transport gas products and holds the potential to inspire innovative designs for improving the light-harvesting efficiency of PBSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingyu Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Juan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Jun-Jie Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian-Rong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Xueqin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenlei Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Zixuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, the Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of the Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of China
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Zhang J, Li F, Liu D, Liu Q, Song H. Engineering extracellular electron transfer pathways of electroactive microorganisms by synthetic biology for energy and chemicals production. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53:1375-1446. [PMID: 38117181 DOI: 10.1039/d3cs00537b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
The excessive consumption of fossil fuels causes massive emission of CO2, leading to climate deterioration and environmental pollution. The development of substitutes and sustainable energy sources to replace fossil fuels has become a worldwide priority. Bio-electrochemical systems (BESs), employing redox reactions of electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) on electrodes to achieve a meritorious combination of biocatalysis and electrocatalysis, provide a green and sustainable alternative approach for bioremediation, CO2 fixation, and energy and chemicals production. EAMs, including exoelectrogens and electrotrophs, perform extracellular electron transfer (EET) (i.e., outward and inward EET), respectively, to exchange energy with the environment, whose rate determines the efficiency and performance of BESs. Therefore, we review the synthetic biology strategies developed in the last decade for engineering EAMs to enhance the EET rate in cell-electrode interfaces for facilitating the production of electricity energy and value-added chemicals, which include (1) progress in genetic manipulation and editing tools to achieve the efficient regulation of gene expression, knockout, and knockdown of EAMs; (2) synthetic biological engineering strategies to enhance the outward EET of exoelectrogens to anodes for electricity power production and anodic electro-fermentation (AEF) for chemicals production, including (i) broadening and strengthening substrate utilization, (ii) increasing the intracellular releasable reducing equivalents, (iii) optimizing c-type cytochrome (c-Cyts) expression and maturation, (iv) enhancing conductive nanowire biosynthesis and modification, (v) promoting electron shuttle biosynthesis, secretion, and immobilization, (vi) engineering global regulators to promote EET rate, (vii) facilitating biofilm formation, and (viii) constructing cell-material hybrids; (3) the mechanisms of inward EET, CO2 fixation pathway, and engineering strategies for improving the inward EET of electrotrophic cells for CO2 reduction and chemical production, including (i) programming metabolic pathways of electrotrophs, (ii) rewiring bioelectrical circuits for enhancing inward EET, and (iii) constructing microbial (photo)electrosynthesis by cell-material hybridization; (4) perspectives on future challenges and opportunities for engineering EET to develop highly efficient BESs for sustainable energy and chemical production. We expect that this review will provide a theoretical basis for the future development of BESs in energy harvesting, CO2 fixation, and chemical synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junqi Zhang
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, and School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
| | - Feng Li
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, and School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
| | - Dingyuan Liu
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, and School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
| | - Qijing Liu
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, and School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
| | - Hao Song
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, and School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
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Xia Q, Liu R, Chen X, Chen Z, Zhu JJ. In Vivo Voltammetric Imaging of Metal Nanoparticle-Catalyzed Single-Cell Electron Transfer by Fermi Level-Responsive Graphene. RESEARCH (WASHINGTON, D.C.) 2023; 6:0145. [PMID: 37223464 PMCID: PMC10200910 DOI: 10.34133/research.0145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Metal nanomaterials can facilitate microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) in the electrochemically active biofilm. However, the role of nanomaterials/bacteria interaction in this process is still unclear. Here, we reported the single-cell voltammetric imaging of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 at the single-cell level to elucidate the metal-enhanced EET mechanism in vivo by the Fermi level-responsive graphene electrode. Quantified oxidation currents of ~20 fA were observed from single native cells and gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-coated cells in linear sweep voltammetry analysis. On the contrary, the oxidation potential was reduced by up to 100 mV after AuNP modification. It revealed the mechanism of AuNP-catalyzed direct EET decreasing the oxidation barrier between the outer membrane cytochromes and the electrode. Our method offered a promising strategy to understand the nanomaterials/bacteria interaction and guide the rational construction of EET-related microbial fuel cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Rui Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Xueqin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Zixuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Jun-Jie Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
- Shenzhen Research Institute of Nanjing University, Shenzhen 518000, P. R. China
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Gu Y, Qi X, Yang X, Jiang Y, Liu P, Quan X, Liang P. Extracellular electron transfer and the conductivity in microbial aggregates during biochemical wastewater treatment: A bottom-up analysis of existing knowledge. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 231:119630. [PMID: 36689883 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) plays a crucial role in bioenergy production and resource recovery from wastewater. Interdisciplinary efforts have been made to unveil EET processes at various spatial scales, from nanowires to microbial aggregates. Electrical conductivity has been frequently measured as an indicator of EET efficiency. In this review, the conductivity of nanowires, biofilms, and granular sludge was summarized, and factors including subjects, measurement methods, and conducting conditions that affect the conductivity difference were discussed in detail. The high conductivity of nanowires does not necessarily result in efficient EET in microbial aggregates due to the existence of non-conductive substances and contact resistance. Improving the conductivity measurement of microbial aggregates is important because it enables the calculation of an EET flux from conductivity and a comparison of the flux with mass transfer coefficients. This review provides new insight into the significance, characterization, and optimization of EET in microbial aggregates during a wastewater treatment process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyi Gu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
| | - Xiang Qi
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
| | - Xufei Yang
- Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007 USA
| | - Yong Jiang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Panpan Liu
- School of Ecology and Environment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, PR China
| | - Xiangchun Quan
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Peng Liang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.
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