SPRING SEMINAR SERIES

“Immobilized Biocatalysts - Application in Enzymatic

and Microbial Fuel Cells”

Glenn R. Johnson PhD

Microbiology & Applied Biochemistry Air Force Research Laboratory

Biological fuel cel ls provide electr ic i ty by breaking down substrates to re lease the energy stored in chemical bonds. Unl ike convent ional fuel cel ls, the precious metal catalysts are replaced by enzymes or microbes for fuel oxidat ion in the anode, and potent ia l ly for oxygen reduct ion in the cathode. The catalyt ic breadth of enzymes al lows the use of energy dense substrates including carbohydrates and macromolecules as fuel sources. In order for the re leased energy to be captured, the biocatalysts must be electronical ly l inked to the anode and cathode. One step toward that l ink is to f ix the catalysts into close associat ions with the electrode surfaces. The approach intends to bui ld a hierarchical, catalyt ic architecture that is amenable to pract ical systems. Contemporary tools in nanotechnology, biomimetic assembly, and mater ia ls chemistry provide many methods to design and create the biocomposite mater ia ls. Our laboratory appl ies combinat ions of these tools for mater ia ls development and character izat ion, a long with assessment of the biochemical act iv i ty. Recent in-house experimental results provide systematic advances in enzymatic fuel cel l technology and address mater ia ls approaches that achieve direct e lectron transfer between enzyme redox cofactors and electrode surfaces. In paral le l , microbia l fuel cel l (MFC) research results have provided insight to bacter ia l physio logy that is direct ly re lated to MFC output by developing new experimental methods that wi l l advance MFC understanding and design.

3:30- 4:30pm Thursday, March 11, 2010

239 Gortner Lab St. Paul Campus

Questions or special needs please contact Marie Raley at 612.624.6774 or bti@umn.edu