Magnetic field effects on cytochrome c-mediated bioelectrocatalytic transformations

Constant magnetic fields affect many biological transformations, but we lack mechanistic understanding of the processes. The magnetohydrodynamic effect may account for the enhancement of bioelectrocatalytic transformations at interfaces. This is exemplified by the bioelectrocatalyzed cytochrome c-mediated reduction of oxygen and oxidation of lactate in the presence of cytochrome oxidase and lactate dehydrogenase, respectively. We observe significant magnetic field effects on the rates of bioelectrochemical transformations (ca. 3-fold increase) at the functionalized interfaces at field strengths, B, up to 1 T. We show that the limiting current is proportional to the B^1/3C* ^4/3, where C* is the concentration of electroactive species. The results may have important implications on the understanding of the magnetic field effects on natural biocatalytic processes at membranes and on the enhancement of biotransformations in biotechnology.