EAPSI:Electron transfer characteristics of thermophilic electrode-respiring bacteria

生物膜形成产电细菌是由于它们能够与固体电极相互作用而得名。这些电化学活性生物膜（EAB）由于其在废水处理、生物商品的电合成以及为无电池远程传感器供电中的实用性而引起科学界的兴趣。作为一种EAB模型，电极呼吸细菌Gesterium sulfurreducens能够直接将电子转移到电极，从而产生高电子转移效率。PI在电化学技术方面有经验，可以量化EABs中的电子转移效率，并将其与模型Geophylsulfurreducens进行比较。该项目在韩国光州科学技术研究所（GIST）的Inseop Chang博士的指导下，将量化主机实验室从制药厂废水处理微生物燃料电池中分离的嗜热EAB的电子转移效率。这项合作将提供访问嗜热菌，只有被观察到的主机研究人员？许多关于EAB的研究集中在受控实验中获得的电流密度上，通常将电子转移过程视为黑匣子。本研究将使用电化学石英晶体微天平在生物电化学系统中评估新菌株作为电化学活性生物膜的性能，并将其与模型EABs在高温下进行比较。工作的假设是，嗜热电极呼吸细菌分离的酿酒厂废水微生物燃料电池将保持其目前的生产能力，在单一培养，这可以通过使用电化学石英晶体微天平平台目前正在开发的华盛顿州立大学进行量化。NSF EAPSI奖是与韩国国家研究基金会合作资助的。

Biofilm-forming electrogenic bacteria are so called due to their ability to interact with solid electrodes. These electrochemically active biofilms (EABs) are intriguing to the scientific community due to their utility in wastewater treatment, electrosynthesis of biocommodities, and powering battery-less remote sensors. A model EAB, the electrode-respiring bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens is able to directly transfer electrons to electrodes, resulting in high electron transfer efficiencies. The PI has experience in electrochemical techniques that can quantify the electron transfer efficiency in EABs and compare them to the model Geobacter sulfurreducens. This project, under the mentorship of Dr. Inseop Chang of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea, will quantify the electron transfer efficiency of thermophilic EABs that have been isolated by the host laboratory from distillery wastewater treatment microbial fuel cells. This collaboration will provide access to thermophiles that have only been observed by the host researcher?s laboratory.Many studies on EABs focus on the current density that was achieved in a controlled experiment, often treating the electron transfer process as a black box. This study will use the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance employed in a bioelectrochemical system to evaluate the new strains performance as an electrochemically active biofilm, and compare it to model EABs at elevated temperatures. The working hypothesis is that thermophilic electrode-respiring bacteria isolated from distillery waste water microbial fuel cells will retain their current production capacities in monoculture and this can be quantified through the use of an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance platform currently being developed at Washington State University. NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.