Professorship for Electrobiotechnology

The professorship of electrobiotechnology at the Straubing Campus for Biotechnology and Sustainability at the Technical University of Munich was newly established in 2020 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Nicolas Plumeré. Our research ranges from the development of fast and accurate electrochemical sensors to sustainable electrosynthesis to photovoltaics and power-to-fuel systems based on naturally occurring proteins. In this context, there is a special focus on the durability and longevity of the fragile biological components, which is a key obstacle in the large-scale application for these sustainable and extraordinarily energy-saving systems. These goals can only be achieved by a broad spectrum of researchers from different disciplines. Through this interdisciplinary team, we would like to accompany the development from the first steps in the basics of protein kinetics to the improvement of prototypes supported by computer simulation.

Bioelectrocatalytic cofactor regeneration coupled to CO₂ fixation in a redox-active hydrogel for stereoselective C-C bond formation
L. Castañeda-Losada, D. Adam, N. Paczia, D. Buesen, F. Steffler, V. Sieber, T. Erb, M. Richter, N. Plumeré
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2021, 60, 2-8

Reversible catalysis
V. Fourmond, N. Plumeré, C. Léger.
Nature Reviews Chemistry, 2021, 5, 348-360

Reversible H₂ oxidation and evolution by hydrogenase embedded in a redox polymer film
S. Hardt, S. Stapf, D. T. Filmon, J. Birrell, O. Rüdiger, V. Fourmond, C. Léger, N. Plumeré.
Nature Catalysis, 2021, 4, 251–258

Spectroscopic Evidence for a Covalent Sigma Au-C Bond on Au Surfaces Using ¹³C Isotope Labeling 
H. Li, G. Kopiec, F. Müller., F. Nyssen, K. Shimizu, M. Ceccato,K. Daasbjerg, N. Plumeré.
JACS Au, 2021, 1 (3), 362-368

Suppressing hydrogen peroxide generation to achieve O₂-insensitivity of a [NiFe] hydrogenase in redox active films
H. Li, U. Münchberg, A. Alsheikh Oughli, D. Buesen, W. Lubitz, E. Freier, N. Plumeré.
Nature Communications, 2020, 11 (1), 1-7

The electron as a probe to measure the thickness distributions of electroactive films
D. Buesen, H. Li, N. Plumeré.
Chemical Science, 2020, 11, 937 – 946 (Outside Front Cover)

Reactivation of sulfide-protected [FeFe] Hydrogenase in a redox-active hydrogel
A. Alsheikh Oughli, S. Hardt, O. Rüdiger, J. A. Birrell and N. Plumeré.
Chemical Communications, 2020, 56 (69), 9958-9961 (Outside Back Cover)

Complete Protection of O₂-Sensitive Catalysts in Thin Films
H. Li, D. Buesen, S. Démentin, C. Léger, V. Fourmond and N. Plumeré.
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141, 16734-16742 (Research Highlight in Nature Reviews Chemistry)

Preventing the coffee-ring effect and aggregate sedimentation by in situ gelation of monodisperse materials
H. Li, D. Buesen, R Williams, J. Henig, S. Stapf, K. Mukherjee, E. Freier, W. Lubitz, M. Winkler, T. Happe and N. Plumeré.
Chemical Science, 2018, 9, 7596-7605 (Pick of the Week, Hot Article, Outside Front Cover)

A Redox Hydrogel Protects the O₂-Sensitive [FeFe]-hydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii from Oxidative Damage
A. Alsheikh Oughli, F. Conzuelo, M. Winkler, T. Happe, W. Lubitz, W. Schuhmann, O. Rüdiger, N. Plumeré. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2015, 54, 12329 –12333.

A redox hydrogel protects hydrogenase from high-potential deactivation and oxygen damage
N. Plumeré, O. Rüdiger, A. Alsheikh Oughli, R. Williams, J. Vivekananthan, S. Pöller, W. Schuhmann, W. Lubitz.
Nature Chemistry, 2014, 6, 822–827.