Biological-inorganic hybrid systems as a generalized platform for chemical production

An expanding renewable energy market to supplant petrochemicals has motivated synthesis technologies that use renewable feedstocks, such as CO₂. Hybrid biological-inorganic systems provide a sustainable, efficient, versatile, and inexpensive chemical synthesis platform. These systems comprise biocompatible electrodes that transduce electrical energy either directly or indirectly into bioavailable energy, such as H₂ and NAD(P)H. In combination, specific bacteria use these energetic reducing equivalents to fix CO₂ into multi-carbon organic compounds. As hybrid biological-inorganic technologies have developed, the focus has shifted from phenomenological and proof-of-concept discovery towards enhanced energy efficiency, production rate, product scope, and industrial robustness. In this review, we highlight the progress and the state-of-the-art of this field and describe the advantages and challenges involved in designing bio- and chemo- compatible systems.