Team:Northeastern/Proof
Proof of Concept
To determine the potential of our parts to improve microbial electrolysis, we first performed in vivo tests for the ability of PR+blh to lower pH and of Nox to reduce oxygen levels.
The pH of liquid cultures of cells containing the K2182002 was compared in dark and light conditions, and with and without B-carotene needed for PR function. The pH of cells grown with both light and B-carotene rose more slowly than other cultures, suggesting that the plasmid could be used to moderate the alkalinity of an MEC cathode and provide protons for hydrogen production. This is in agreement with previous characterization performed by UNITN-Trento 2015.
The dissolved oxygen concentration of liquid cultures of E. coli BL21 was compared for wild type cells and those transformed with nox plasmid K3282003. The presence of the nox plasmid lowered the dissolved oxygen concentration over time in cultures with the same number of cells exposed to air.
