Biofuel Cells From Bacterial Membrane Protein
October 18, 2006
In an article published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, scientist report of purified protein extracted from Shewanella oneidensis which may be used in designing miniature bioreactor cells. These proteins –outer membrane c-type cytochrome A, or OmcA –formed a dense coating on the iron-rich mineral hematite and using a combination of techniques that included FCS, or fluorescent correlation spectroscopy, and confocal microscopy, demonstrate whether hematite was available to bind with OmcA in solution, and transfer electric charge from the protein to the mineral.
According to the reserachers, these preliminary findings suggest that these protein have the potential to be used in developing small biofuel cells.
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