Environmental remediation and biofuel production through nanoparticle stimulation of yeast

Abstract

Artificially photosynthetic systems aim to store solar energy and chemically reduce carbon dioxide. These systems have been developed in order to use light to drive processes for carbon fixation into biomass and/or liquid fuels. We have developed a hybrid-biological system that manages both genetically controlled generation of products along with the photoactivability of a semiconductor system. We show an increase in the production of ethanol, a common biofuel, through the electron transfer stimulated by biologically produced cadmium sulfide nanoparticles and light. This work provides a basis on which to improve the production of many metabolites and products through endogenously produced nanoparticles.