Nonlinear Frequency Analysis of the Ferrocyanide Oxidation Kinetics. Part II. Measurement Routine and Experimental Validation

Kinetics of ferrocyanide electrooxidation was investigated by nonlinear frequency response analysis (NLFRA) of current output to the sinusoidal large-amplitude potential perturbation input. The aim was to establish a measurement routine and to validate experimentally the NLFRA method on an example of a simple electrochemical reaction comprising charge and mass transfer. The first-order frequency response function (FRF) contains quasi-linear information on the reaction kinetics and corresponds to electrochemical admittance. The nonlinear fingerprint of the system is contained in the second-order FRF. The first- and second-order FRFs are determined from experimental first and second harmonics. Their intensities depend on the input signal amplitude, which has to be chosen carefully to avoid the contributions of higher order harmonics. The influence of the potential and electrode rotation speed on the first- and second-order FRFs has been studied. The experimentally obtained FRFs are compared with the theoretical FRFs determined in Part I of this work. The theoretical FRFs can predict all essential experimental observations. These findings indicate that additional information on reaction kinetics can be gained from the analysis of the second-order FRF

MaxSynBio: Avenues Towards Creating Cells from the Bottom Up

A large Max Planck-based German research consortium ('MaxSynBio') was formed to investigate living systems from a fundamental perspective. The research program of MaxSynBio relies solely on the bottom-up approach to Synthetic Biology. MaxSynBio focuses on the detailed analysis and understanding of essential processes of life, via their modular reconstitution in minimal synthetic systems. The ultimate goal is to construct a basic living unit entirely from non-living components. The fundamental insights gained from the activities in MaxSynBio can eventually be utilized for establishing a new generation of biotechnological processes, which would be based on synthetic cell constructs that replace natural cells currently used in conventional biotechnology

MaxSynBio: Wege zur Synthese einer Zelle aus nicht lebenden Komponenten

Ein großes deutsches Max‐Planck‐Forschungskonsortium (“MaxSynBio”) untersucht lebende Systeme aus fundamentaler Perspektive. Das Forschungsprogramm von MaxSynBio verfolgt dabei ausschließlich einen “Bottom‐up”‐Ansatz in der synthetischen Biologie: Es konzentriert sich auf die detaillierte Analyse und das Verständnis essentieller Lebensprozesse, indem es diese Prozesse als elementare Module in minimalen synthetischen Systemen rekonstituiert. Das ultimative Ziel von MaxSynBio ist es, eine lebende Zelle komplett aus nicht lebenden Komponenten zu konstruieren. Die grundlegenden Erkenntnisse aus den Aktivitäten in MaxSynBio können auf lange Sicht zur Etablierung neuer biotechnologischer Verfahren führen, die auf synthetischen Zellkonstrukten basieren. Langfristig könnten dadurch Organismen ersetzt werden, die derzeit in der konventionellen Biotechnologie Verwendung finden