Research
Development of Lanthanide Enhanced Methanol Dehydrogenase Electrodes for Improved Bioelectrocatalysis Applications​
Microbes play an important role in alternative energy systems in the form of biological fuel cells (BFC) by participating in oxygen reduction and carbon dioxide reduction catalysis. Furthermore, there are bacterium that utilize nuclear waste to assist in enhancing these reactions to provide increased enzymatic kinetics. Methylobacterium radiotolerans are known to utilize naturally occurring rare earth metals (lanthanides) in place of calcium as a crucial cofactor in methanol dehydrogenase activity. My research explores this change in bioelectrocatalytic activity in these enhanced microbes using electrochemical techniques. ​​
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My goal is to design an enzyme modified electrode by immobilizing lanthanide cofactor methanol dehydrogenase enzymes (Ln-MDH) onto a glassy carbon electrode for future applications in biological fuel cells and methanol-based energy technologies.​