Bio-reactive system and method for voltage controlled metabolism

Abstract

Bio-reactive systems for voltage controlled metabolism are described, that include electrochemical-electrostatic systems having a conventional three electrode cell modified with at least one additional gating electrode. The rate of a metabolic process occurring in at least one organism disposed on a working electrode is controllable by applying a gating voltage VG to the at least one gating electrode. A method for voltage controlled metabolism in a bio-reactive electrostatic cell that includes applying a gating voltage VG to at least one gating electrode is also described. The rate of a metabolic process may be controlled by altering at least one of the magnitude and polarity of the applied gating voltage VG. The method for voltage controlled metabolism may further be used to treat cancer and/or increase the rate of ethanol production by fermentation.

1 . An electrostatic bio-reactive system for voltage controlled metabolism, comprising:
 a first electrode, wherein the first electrode comprises a metal, which may be coated with an insulator;   a second electrode electrically connected through an external voltage source providing V G  to the first electrode, wherein the second electrode comprises a metal coated with an insulator; and   at least one organism that is disposed on the first electrode and/or the second electrode, or is suspended in a solution in the presence of the first electrode and the second electrode, the at least one organism operative to cause metabolism of a metabolic substrate; and   the metabolic substrate;   wherein the operation of the system does not involve electric currents;   wherein the produced voltage V G  controls the kinetics of a metabolic reaction performed by the at least one organism on the metabolic substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the organism is yeast. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the organism is algae. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the metabolic substrate is a sugar. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second electrode comprises further a plurality of electrically connected electrodes. 
     
     
         7 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A method for voltage controlled metabolism in an electrostatic bio-reactive cell, comprising:
 suspending at least one organism and at least one metabolic substrate that can be metabolized by the organism in a solution in contact with a first electrode and at least one second electrode, wherein one or both electrode is coated with an insulator so that no current flows in the circuit;   applying a gating voltage V G  between the first electrode and at least one second electrode disposed within the solution; and   controlling a rate of a metabolic reaction caused by the at least one organism by selecting at least one of the magnitude and polarity of the applied gating voltage V G .   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the organism is yeast. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the organism is algae. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the metabolic substrate is a sugar. 
     
     
         13 - 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the gating voltage V G  changes the rate of the metabolic reaction. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the metabolic substrate is metabolized to ethanol by the organism. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the method is used to control the metabolism of a metabolic substrate performed by an organism to produce useful end products. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the method is used to control bioconversion or biotransformation processes to produce molecules including biofuels. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the method is used to control the production of proteins, antibodies, enzymes, molecules and microbes using fermentation in organisms. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the method is used to control photosynthesis. 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . An electrochemical-electrostatic bio-reactive system for voltage controlled metabolism, comprising:
 a working electrode, a reference electrode, and a counter electrode connected in a conventional three electrode electrochemical cell;   at least one gating electrode comprising a metal coated with an insulator, the gating electrode being electrically connected via an external voltage source, that produces a gating voltage V G  to the working electrode; and   at least one organism disposed on the working electrode, the at least one organism operative to cause metabolism of a metabolic substrate; and   the metabolic substrate;   wherein the kinetics of the metabolism is controlled by applying a gating voltage V G  via the external voltage source between the gating electrode and the working electrode, which is in contact with the at least one organism.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the reference and counter electrodes are combined into a single electrode. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the organism is yeast. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the organism is algae. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the metabolic substrate is a sugar. 
     
     
         29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the working reference electrode, reference electrode, counter electrode, and gating electrode are positioned in a container. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the gating electrode comprises further a plurality of electrically connected gating electrodes. 
     
     
         32 - 49 . (canceled)