2112
Novel Electrochemical Cell Favorable for the Kinetic Studies of Highly Active Enzymes

Monday, 14 May 2018: 16:00
Room 620 (Washington State Convention Center)

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN

Rotating disk electrode is by far the most popular hydrodynamic electrode used for the kinetic studies of the chemical reactions. This is due to its great advantages, as a uniformly accessible electrode, makes it the most convenient for quantitative analysis. In our group, we are interested to study the mechanism of the enzymes using protein film voltammetry (PFV)1 in which the enzyme is absorbed at the electrode surface of the rotating disk electrode, where the electron transfer is direct (Figure). CO dehydrogenase, CODH, is a promising enzyme, that catalyzes the reversible reaction of reduction of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide: CO + H2O ↔ CO2 + 2e- + 2H+, which is the first step to the production of fuel2,3. With the classical setup using the rotating disk electrode, the transport of chemical species toward the enzyme is insufficient to match its very high activity; this blurs the enzymatic response and prevents mechanistic studies. To enhance the transport toward the active sites of the enzymes at the electrode, we design a new type of a flow cell. We use fluid mechanics simulation to study a variety of geometrical configurations, to choose a suitable prototype of electrochemical cell. Based on our numerical simulations, we build this cell and we perform the experimental studies.