Shuttling of electrons

Remember, catalytic reactions require the shuttling of electrons to help make and break bonds. For this reason, the surfaces of heterogeneous catalysts can be functionalized to be either acidic or basic depending on whether you require an electron donating surface (basic) or an electron withdrawing surface (acid). Aluminum is useful because it can be both acidic and basic, a state known as being amphoteric. 

Chemical mediators or electron shuttles were routinely added to MFCs that resulted in electron transfer by bacteria and even yeast. In the earliest studies by Potter (1911) the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae and bacteria such as Bacillus coli (later classified as Escherichia coli) were shown to produce a voltage, resulting in electricity generation. How that worked is not well known as there were no known mediators added to the cell suspensions, and E. coli Bond and Lovley 2003) and yeast are not known to produce electricity today in the absence of mediators. Since that time, a variety of chemicals have been used to facilitate the shuttling of electrons from inside the cell to electrodes outside the cell. These exogenous mediators include, for example, neutral red Park et al. 1999), anthraquinone-2-6,disulfonate (AQDS), thionin, potassium ferricyanide Bond et al. 2002), methyl viologen, and others Logan 2004 Rabaey and Verstraete 2005). 

This is a crucial point because (as we will see) proton transport is coupled with ATP synthesis. Oxidation of one FADHg in the electron transport chain results in synthesis of approximately two molecules of ATP, compared with the approximately three ATPs produced by the oxidation of one NADH. Other enzymes can also supply electrons to UQ, including mitochondrial 5w-glyc-erophosphate dehydrogenase, an inner membrane-bound shuttle enzyme, and the fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, three soluble matrix enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation (Figure 21.7 also see Chapter 24). The path of electrons from succinate to UQ is shown in Figure 21.8. 

Mediated electrolyses make use of electron transfer mediators PjQ that shuttle electrons between electrodes and substrates S, avoiding adverse effects encountered with the direct heterogeneous reaction of substrates at electrode surfaces (Scheme 6). In recent years this mode of electrochemical synthesis has been widely studio and it is becoming increasingly well understood. A review is given in vol 1 of the present electrochemistry series... 

Figure 7-6. Mechanism for catalysis by an aspartic protease such as HIV protease. Curved arrows Indicate directions of electron movement. Aspartate X acts as a base to activate a water molecule by abstracting a proton. The activated water molecule attacks the peptide bond, forming a transient tetrahedral Intermediate. Aspartate Y acts as an acid to facilitate breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate and release of the split products by donating a proton to the newly formed amino group. Subsequent shuttling of the proton on Asp X to Asp Y restores the protease to its initial state.

The many redox reactions that take place within a cell make use of metalloproteins with a wide range of electron transfer potentials. To name just a few of their functions, these proteins play key roles in respiration, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation. Some of them simply shuttle electrons to or from enzymes that require electron transfer as part of their catalytic activity. In many other cases, a complex enzyme may incorporate its own electron transfer centers. There are three general categories of transition metal redox centers cytochromes, blue copper proteins, and iron-sulfur proteins. 

The second-generation 02" biosensors are mainly based on the electron transfer of SOD shuttled by surface-confined or solution-phase mediators, as shown in Scheme 2(b). In 1995, Ohsaka et al. found that methyl viologen could efficiently shuttle the electron transfer between SOD and the glassy carbon electrode and proposed that such a protocol could be useful for developing 02 biosensors [125], Recently, Endo et al. reported an 02, biosensor based on mediated electrochemistry of SOD [148], In that case, ferrocene-carboxaldehyde was used as the mediator for the redox process of SOD. The as-developed 02 biosensor showed a high sensitivity, reproducibility, and durability. A good linearity was obtained in the range of 0 100 pM. In the flow cell system, tissue-derived 02 was measured. 

The acceleration mechanism of redox mediators are presumed by van der Zee [15]. Redox mediators as reductase or coenzymes catalyze reactions by lowering the activation energy of the total reaction. Redox mediators, for example, artificial redox mediators such as AQDS, can accelerate both direct enzymatic reduction and mediated/indirect biological azo dye reduction (Fig. 3). In the case of direct enzymatic azo dye reduction, the accelerating effect of redox mediator will be due to redox mediator enzymatic reduction in addition to enzymatic reduction of the azo dye. Possibly, both reactions will be catalyzed by the same nonspecific periplasmic enzymes. In the case of azo dye reduction by reduced enzyme cofactors, the accelerating effect of redox mediator will either be due to an electron shuttle between the reduced enzyme cofactor and redox mediator or be due to redox mediator enzymatic reduction in addition to enzymatic reduction of the coenzymes. In the latter case, the addition of redox mediator simply increases the pool of electron carriers. 

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 transport in electrode coatings containing redox centers is a necessary ingredient of their functioning as a catalytic device. They indeed serve as an electron shuttle between the electrode and the catalyst present inside the film. As discussed in the next section, the same molecule may play the role of catalyst and of electron carrier, since as shown earlier, redox catalysis is possible in these multilayered coatings. They may also be different, as exemplified is Section 4.3.6. 

In most cases the electronic connection between an immobilized redox enzyme and the electrode requires a mediator to shuttle the electrons to the prosthetic group or some type of wiring that plays the same role. There are cases, however, especially those involving relatively small enzymes, where direct electron transfer takes place between the electrode and the prosthetic group or some electronic relay in the enzyme. Analysis of the catalysis responses then follows the principles described and illustrated in Section 4.3.2. Somewhat more complicated schemes are treated in references7, where illustrative experimental examples can also be found. 

Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to molecular and biomolecular catalysis of electrochemical reactions. As discussed earlier, molecular electrochemistry deals with transforming molecules by electrochemical means. With molecular catalysis of electrochemical reactions, we address the converse aspect of molecular electrochemistry how to use molecules to produce better electrochemistry. It is first important to distinguish redox catalysis from chemical catalysis. In the first case, the catalytic effect stems from the three-dimensional dispersion of the mediator (catalyst), which merely shuttles the electrons between the electrode and the reactant. In chemical catalysis, there is a more intimate interaction between the active form of the catalyst and the reactant. The differences between the two types of catalysis are illustrated by examples of homogeneous systems in which not only the rapidity of the catalytic process, but also the selectivity problems, are discussed. 

Immobilizing the catalyst on the electrode surface is useful for both synthetic and sensors applications. Monomolecular coatings do not allow redox catalysis, but multilayered coatings do. The catalytic responses are then functions of three main factors in addition to transport of the reactant from the bulk of the solution to the film surface transport of electrons through the film, transport of the reactant in the reverse direction, and catalytic reaction. The interplay of these factors is described with the help of characteristic currents and kinetic zone diagrams. In several systems the mediator plays the role of an electron shuttle and of a catalyst. More interesting are the systems in which the two roles are assigned to two different molecules chosen to fulfill these two different functions, as illustrated by a typical experimental example. 

Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2000) Lack of production of electron-shuttling compounds or solubilization of Fe(III) during reduction of insoluble Fe(III) oxide by Geobacter metallireducens. App Environ Microbio 66 2248-2251... 

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