Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level
Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) have a number of potential technological applications. In this work, we report the use of screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) as a tool to analyze the microbial electroactivity by using Geobacter sulfurreducens as a model microorganism. We took advantage of...
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Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12366 |
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doaj-b2ed9953822d4a7eb3eafba58b53da342020-11-25T01:10:25ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732015-11-01811132111322110.3390/en81112366en81112366Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale LevelMarta Estevez-Canales0Antonio Berná1Zulema Borjas2Abraham Esteve-Núñez3Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28871, SpainIMDEA WATER, Technological Park of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28805, SpainIMDEA WATER, Technological Park of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28805, SpainDepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28871, SpainMicrobial electrochemical technologies (METs) have a number of potential technological applications. In this work, we report the use of screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) as a tool to analyze the microbial electroactivity by using Geobacter sulfurreducens as a model microorganism. We took advantage of the small volume required for the assays (75 μL) and the disposable nature of the manufactured strips to explore short-term responses of microbial extracellular electron transfer to conductive materials under different scenarios. The system proved to be robust for identifying the bioelectrochemical response, while avoiding complex electrochemical setups, not available in standard biotechnology laboratories. We successfully validated the system for characterizing the response of Geobacter sulfurreducens in different physiological states (exponential phase, stationary phase, and steady state under continuous culture conditions) revealing different electron transfer responses. Moreover, a combination of SPE and G. sulfurreducens resulted to be a promising biosensor for quantifying the levels of acetate, as well as for performing studies in real wastewater. In addition, the potential of the technology for identifying electroactive consortia was tested, as an example, with a mixed population with nitrate-reducing capacity. We therefore present SPEs as a novel low-cost platform for assessing microbial electrochemical activity at the microscale level.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12366screen-printed electrodes (SPEs)Geobacter sulfurreducensmicrobial electrochemistry |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Marta Estevez-Canales Antonio Berná Zulema Borjas Abraham Esteve-Núñez |
spellingShingle |
Marta Estevez-Canales Antonio Berná Zulema Borjas Abraham Esteve-Núñez Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level Energies screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) Geobacter sulfurreducens microbial electrochemistry |
author_facet |
Marta Estevez-Canales Antonio Berná Zulema Borjas Abraham Esteve-Núñez |
author_sort |
Marta Estevez-Canales |
title |
Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level |
title_short |
Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level |
title_full |
Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level |
title_fullStr |
Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level |
title_full_unstemmed |
Screen-Printed Electrodes: New Tools for Developing Microbial Electrochemistry at Microscale Level |
title_sort |
screen-printed electrodes: new tools for developing microbial electrochemistry at microscale level |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Energies |
issn |
1996-1073 |
publishDate |
2015-11-01 |
description |
Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) have a number of potential technological applications. In this work, we report the use of screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) as a tool to analyze the microbial electroactivity by using Geobacter sulfurreducens as a model microorganism. We took advantage of the small volume required for the assays (75 μL) and the disposable nature of the manufactured strips to explore short-term responses of microbial extracellular electron transfer to conductive materials under different scenarios. The system proved to be robust for identifying the bioelectrochemical response, while avoiding complex electrochemical setups, not available in standard biotechnology laboratories. We successfully validated the system for characterizing the response of Geobacter sulfurreducens in different physiological states (exponential phase, stationary phase, and steady state under continuous culture conditions) revealing different electron transfer responses. Moreover, a combination of SPE and G. sulfurreducens resulted to be a promising biosensor for quantifying the levels of acetate, as well as for performing studies in real wastewater. In addition, the potential of the technology for identifying electroactive consortia was tested, as an example, with a mixed population with nitrate-reducing capacity. We therefore present SPEs as a novel low-cost platform for assessing microbial electrochemical activity at the microscale level. |
topic |
screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) Geobacter sulfurreducens microbial electrochemistry |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/11/12366 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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