Title
Tuning Structural Changes in Glucose Oxidase for Enzyme Fuel Cell Applications
Author
Barbara Mecheri, Diana De Porcellinis, Patricia T. Campana, Alberto Rainer, Marcella Trombetta, Alexandre Marletta, Osvaldo N. Oliveira Jr., Silvia Licoccia
Year
2015
Journal
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Abstract
Stabilization and electrical contacting of redox enzymes with electrodes are fundamental requirements for bioelectronics devices, including biosensors and enzyme fuel cells (EFCs). In this study, we show increased glucose oxidase (GOx) stability by immobilization with Nafion. The immobilization process affected GOx conformation but was not detrimental to its activity, which was maintained for more than 120 days. The GOx/Nafion system was interfaced to a carbon cloth electrode and assembled in a prototypal EFC fed with glucose. Polarization and power density curves demonstrated that GOx/Nafion system was able to generate power, exploiting a Nafion-assisted electron transfer process to the electrode. Our findings are consistent with the onset of pH-dependent conformational equilibrium for the enzyme secondary structure and its active site. Significantly, the protective effect exerted by Nafion on the enzyme structure may be tuned by varying parameters such as the pH to fabricate durable EFCs with good electrocatalytic performance.
Full Article
Instrument
J-810
Keywords
Circular dichroism, Protein denaturation, Secondary structure, Materials, Biochemistry