"Plugging into Enzymes": Nanowiring of Redox Enzymes by a Gold Nanoparticle
Yi Xiao,1
Fernando Patolsky,1
Eugenii Katz,1
James F. Hainfeld,2
Itamar Willner1*
The reconstitution of an apo-flavoenzyme,
apo-glucose oxidase, on a 1.4-nanometer gold nanocrystal
functionalized with the cofactor flavin adenine dinucleotide and
integrated into a conductive film yields a bioelectrocatalytic system
with exceptional electrical contact with the electrode support. The
electron transfer turnover rate of the reconstituted bioelectrocatalyst
is ~5000 per second, compared with the rate at which molecular
oxygen, the natural cosubstrate of the enzyme, accepts electrons
(~700 per second). The gold nanoparticle acts as an electron relay or
"electrical nanoplug" for the alignment of the enzyme on the
conductive support and for the electrical wiring of its redox-active
center.
1 Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
2 Brookhaven National
Laboratory, Biology Department, Building 463, Upton, NY 11873, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
willnea{at}vms.huji.ac.il
