The 25th International Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics of the Bioelectrochemical Society was held at the University of Limerick from May 26–30, 2019. A total of 225 delegates attended the symposium which focussed on the following themes:
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Biopower and Bioenergetics
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Electroporation and Electrophysiology
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Sensing and Biointerfaces
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New Materials/Materials Chemistry for Bioelectrochemistry
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Protein Electrochemistry and Protein Engineering
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Emerging Topics in Bioelectrochemistry
The symposium opened on Sunday evening with a presentation by Giulo Milazzo Prize awardee Prof. Wolfgang Schuhmann and a presentation by Luigi Galvani Prize awardee Prof. Nicolas Plumeré, both from Ruhr University Bochum, on “From nanobiosensors to bioelectrocatalysis and photobioelectrocatalysis” and “Introducing robustness into fragile bioelectrochemical systems”, respectively.
Four plenary lectures were delivered each morning:
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Prof. Haygen Bayley, University of Oxford, on “Protein pores as nanoreactors for single-molecule covalent chemistry”,
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Prof. Shana Kelley, University of Toronto, on “How low can we go? Ultrasensitive Electrochemical Detection of Biomolecular Analytes”
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Prof. Thomas Vernier, Old Dominion University, on “Transport through electrically stressed cell membranes – introduction to the after electropermeome
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Prof. Jenny Emnéus, Technical University of Denmark, on “2D and 3D bioelectrochemical lab-on-a-chip systems for environmental and life science applications”.
The plenary presentations were followed by16 keynote and 96 oral presentations in subsequent sessions across the 6 symposium themes. Networking and research discussion after presentations, during breaks and at the 2 poster sessions was supplemented by a social programme that included a visit to King John’s Castle and the Bunratty Castle folk park and heritage site.
This special issue is comprised of a series of 1515 contributed papers from the symposium (14 original contributions and 1 review paper) that reflect the international and research diversity of the symposium.
In this issue Tang et al. present a review on graphene-based enzymatic biofuel cells that provides an update on developments over the past 4–5 years on the use of graphene as an electrode material for enzymatic biofuel cells.
Research published on microbial electrochemical systems include that of Gajda at al. who describe the use of modular ceramic microbial fuel cells that provide a power output of 11.9 Wm−3 and with retention of output for 580 days. Buitrón et al. assess the use of anion exchange membranes in microbial electrolysis cells, with the optimal performance obtained with a diazabicyclooctane functionalised membrane, while Zhang et al. report on a triple phase single chamber microbial fuel cell that confers significant salt tolerance with a 38% higher rate of removal of nitrogen.
Reports on sensors include the work of Bennett et al, who report on the use of Nafion® coated electrodes to enhance the stability of mediated glucose enzyme electrodes for operation in human physiological solutions. Schuhmann et al. describe the use of HF etched nanoelectrodes and demonstrate that the electrodes could be successfully used in measuring intracellular glucose levels in single cells. Schwarzová-Pecková reported on the detection of bile acids in serum. Corrigan et al. report on the preparation of thin film carbon electrodes that can be used to determine dopamine at concentrations down to 50 pM without modifying the surface of the electrode. Danhel et al. use electrodeposited silver amalgam particles on pyrolytic graphite for the detection of 4-nitrophenol, fluorescently modified calf thymus DNA and green fluorescent protein.
In membrane studies, De Lacey et al. reconstitute ATP-synthase in a phospholipid bilayer on a gold electrode that can be used for the potentiometric detection of ATP over the range 1 μm to 1 mM. The use of cubosome nanocarriers as biomimetic drug delivery systems is reported by Bilewicz et al. who also describe a study on the formation of inclusion complexes between temozolomide and cyclodextrin derivatives. Lipkowski et al. discuss the use mixed monolayers of 1-hexadecanethiol and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-cytidine on gold for molecular recognition of guanine. DeNardis et al examine isolated ghost plasma membrane vesicles from algae. Characterisation of the properties of the vesicles demonstrate that they could be used as models for membrane processes. Finally, Krukiewicz et al. report on an ibuprofen modified poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) matrix that was successfully used as a drug eluting system to control astrocyte activation and suppress neuroinflammation in vitro.
BES2019 was a great success with excellent presentations of leading research in all six themes. This special issue provides a flavour of this research. We look forward to the next symposium which will be held on May 9–13, 2021 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (www.bes2021.org) with a focus on:
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Smart materials for Bioelectrochemistry
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Electrochemical sensors for diagnostics and therapy monitoring
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Pulsed electric and magnetic fields in biology, medicine and biotechnology
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Bioenergetics and biosynthesis
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Microbial films and Biocorrosion
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Electron transport in biological systems - theory and experiment
At the time of writing (May 2020), we are witnessing the severe and widespread effects of COVID-19 across the globe. We hope that you all remain safe and to see you in Cluj-Napoca in 2021.
