Indole oxidation enhances electricity production in an E. coli-catalyzed microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate electricity from the oxidation of dissolved organic matter. A variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli, produce a large quantity of indole, which functions as an extracellular signal molecule. This work explored the role of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering 2014, 19(1), , pp.126-131
Main Authors: Han, Thi Hiep, Cho, Moo Hwan, Lee, Jintae
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Biofilms
Biomass energy
Biotechnology
Carbon
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Dissolved organic matter
E coli
Electric power generation
Electricity
Electrodes
Electrons
Enzymes
Escherichia coli
Fuel cells
Fuel technology
Gram-negative bacteria
Industrial and Production Engineering
microbial fuel cells
Oxidation
Personal computers
Plasmids
power generation
Research Paper
Studies
Toluene
생물공학
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Summary:Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate electricity from the oxidation of dissolved organic matter. A variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli, produce a large quantity of indole, which functions as an extracellular signal molecule. This work explored the role of indole in a mediatorless E. coli catalyzed MFC. Although the presence of indole alone did not affect power generation, indole oxidation by the indole-oxidizing enzyme toluene-o-monooxygenase (TOM) enhanced power density by 9-fold. Open circuit voltage and polarization curve showed that indole oxidation by TOM produced a maximum power density of 5.4 mW/m² at 1,000 ohm. Cyclic voltammetric results suggested that indole oxidation resulted in the production of redox compounds. This study provides a novel means of enhancing power generation in E. coli-catalyzed MFCs.
ISSN:1226-8372
1976-3816
DOI:10.1007/s12257-013-0429-7