The molecular density of states in bacterial nanowires
The molecular density of states in bacterial nanowires
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DOI：
10.1529/biophysj.108.134411
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发表时间：
2008-07-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Nealson, Kenneth H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
El-Naggar, Mohamed Y.;Gorby, Yuri A.;Nealson, Kenneth H.
最近发现的导电细菌附属物具有重要的生理，生态和生物技术的影响，但在这些纳米结构的电子传输机制仍然不清楚。我们在这里报告的定量测量运输跨细菌纳米线产生的异化金属还原细菌，希瓦氏菌oneidensis MR-1，其电子传输系统正在研究可再生能源回收微生物燃料电池和生物修复的重金属和放射性核素。希瓦氏纳米线显示出令人惊讶的非线性电输运行为，其中电导的电压依赖性揭示了指示具有较高电子态密度的离散能级的峰。我们的研究结果表明，分子成分沿着希瓦氏纳米线具有复杂的电子结构，在介导运输的作用。
The recent discovery of electrically conductive bacterial appendages has significant physiological, ecological, and biotechnological implications, but the mechanism of electron transport in these nanostructures remains unclear. We here report quantitative measurements of transport across bacterial nanowires produced by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, whose electron transport system is being investigated for renewable energy recovery in microbial fuel cells and bioremediation of heavy metals and radionuclides. The Shewanella nanowires display a surprising nonlinear electrical transport behavior, where the voltage dependence of the conductance reveals peaks indicating discrete energy levels with higher electronic density of states. Our results indicate that the molecular constituents along the Shewanella nanowires possess an intricate electronic structure that plays a role in mediating transport.