A Laminar‐Flow Microfluidic Device for Quantitative Analysis of Microbial Electrochemical Activity

Abstract

Abstract We report a laminar flow‐based microfluidic bioelectrochemical system (BES) that was fabricated by using polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) channels and gold electrodes. The microfluidic BES was operated as a potentiostatically controlled two‐electrode system. A pure culture of Geobacter sulfurreducens strain PCA, which is a model electrode‐respiring bacterium, was grown in the channel and respired with the electrode under strict anaerobic conditions. We took advantage of the short hydraulic retention time (≈2 min) and response times (<21 min) to rapidly test the effect of certain chemical stimuli, such as O 2 and anthraquinone disulfide (AQDS), on electric current production by G. sulfurreducens . The results showed that: i) short‐term (2 min) exposure to O 2 ‐saturated solution did not cause any irreversible toxicity to G. sulfurreducens , and ii) AQDS can be used as a redox mediator by G. sulfurreducens for shuttling electrons between the microbe and the electrode. We, therefore, demonstrate that the microfluidic BES is a promising research tool for gaining insight into microbial electrochemical activity. In our two‐dimensional microfluidic‐based research tool, a well‐defined electrochemical environment can be maintained with the help of laminar flow without a membrane to separate two electrodes.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1002/cssc.201100736

Journal

ChemSusChem

Year

2012