Ferrocene derivatives, mediated electron

Mizutani et al. [16] have demonstrated that ferrocene derivatives, attached by means of covalent bonds to the surface of bovine serum albumin, have been able to mediate the electron transfer between the glucose oxidase and the electrode through the osemium complex. 

Schuman et al. have synthesized ferrocene-modified glucose oxidase with the ferrocene derivatives bound via long and flexible chains directly to the outer surface of the enzyme [17]. A peripherally attached redox mediator may accept electrons through either an intramolecular or through an intermo-lecular process. 

However, because of the mostly very slow electron transfer rate between the redox active protein and the anode, mediators have to be introduced to shuttle the electrons between the enzyme and the electrode effectively (indirect electrochemical procedure). As published in many papers, the direct electron transfer between the protein and an electrode can be accelerated by the application of promoters which are adsorbed at the electrode surface [27], However, this type of electrode modification, which is quite useful for analytical studies of the enzymes or for sensor applications is in most cases not stable and effective enough for long-term synthetic application. Therefore, soluble redox mediators such as ferrocene derivatives, quinoid compounds or other transition metal complexes are more appropriate for this purpose. 

Electron mediators are usually organic molecules that are redox active, such as ferrocene derivatives, benzoquinone, N-methylphenazium, and 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP). Ferricyanide has also been used as an electron mediator. They offer the advantages of non-... 

Photoswitchable electrical communication between enzymes and electrodes has also been achieved by the application of photoisomerizable electron-transfer mediators [195, 199]. DilTusional electron mediators (viologen or ferrocene derivatives) were functionalized with photoisomerizable spiropyran/merocyanine units. These mediators can be reversibly photoisomerized from the spiropyran state to the merocyanine state (360 < A < 380 nm) and back (A > 475 nm). An enzyme multilayer array composed of glutathione reductase or glucose oxidase was electrically contacted only when the photoactive group linked to the redox relay (viologen or ferrocene derivative, respectively) was in the spiropyran state. 

A novel principle for accelerating the electron transfer has been the direct chemical modification of GOD by electron-mediating groups such as ferrocene derivatives (Heller and Degani, 1987). The distance between the mediator molecules was at most 1 nm and the relays had to be attached in the vicinity of the prosthetic group. The binding of ferrocene to GOD was therefore conducted in 2 mol/1 urea. After refold-... 

Substituted ferrocenes also form monoanions at very negative potentials electron addition is genuinely associated with the ferrocene nucleus rather than with an electroactive substituent. The E° value for [Fe(f/-C5H4Ph)2] is — 2.62 V, and [FeCp2] itself shows a quasi-reversible reduction at —2.93 V in dmf (452), with a peak separation of 250 mV at — 37°C(v = 1 Vsec-1). Exhaustive electrolytic reduction of ferrocene derivatives yields solutions containing the substituted cyclopentadienide anions the latter may be used in the syntheses of other cyclopentadienylmetal complexes (453). Ferrocenes are also finding use as mediators in electron-transfer reactions, especially at electrode surfaces (454-456). 

---