Enzyme-based biofuel cells with switchable and tunable power output

Electrical contacting of redox enzymes with electrode supports attracts substantial research efforts directed to the development of biosensors and biofuel cell elements. Novel configurations of biofuel cells were presented, in which the output power (voltage and current) can be reversibly switched between ON and OFF states and the magnitude of the voltage-current output can be precisely tuned by electrochemical or magnetic input signals. The effect of a constant magnetic field on bioelectrocatalytic transformations of three different enzyme assemblies linked to electrodes was examined and correlated with a theoretical magnetohydrodynamic model. The enhancement of the bioelectrocatalytic processes correlated well with the magnetohydrodynamic model. The magnetic field effects should be searched on the electrode that controls the power output of the biofuel cells to improve the biofuel cell performance. This is an abstract of a paper presented ACS Fuel Chemistry Meeting (Washington, DC Fall 2005).