Electrodriven ATP Synthesis via a Reconstructed Thylakoid Membrane.

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the primary energy currency in biological systems.
• Current methods for ATP synthesis often rely on solar or chemical energy.
• Green electricity is vital for a carbon-neutral future, necessitating novel energy conversion strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and verify a novel electrodriven phosphorylation method for ATP synthesis.
• To integrate biological components into electrochemical systems for energy regeneration.
• To explore sustainable methods for ATP production using green electricity.

Main Methods:

• Isolated spinach thylakoid membranes (TMs) enriched with ATPases.
• Constructed planar TMs (pTMs) onto a proton exchange membrane (PEM).
• Integrated the biological PEM into a two-compartment electrochemical cell for ATP synthesis via electrochemical water splitting.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized ATP using the ATPase of pTMs, driven by a proton gradient from electrochemical water splitting.
• Achieved an ATP synthesis rate of 3.16 μM min⁻¹μgChl⁻¹ at 3 V, which is approximately double the rate of ΔpH-driven ATP synthesis.
• Optimized TMs concentration and incubation time for enhanced ATP regeneration.

Conclusions:

• The novel electrodriven phosphorylation method effectively regenerates ATP using green electricity.
• This bio-integrated electrochemical system demonstrates significant potential for in vitro biotransformation (ivBT) applications.
• The developed method offers a sustainable and efficient alternative for ATP production.