Electron transfer is arguably one of the most important chemical reactions for life, and has important implications in medicine (e.g., pathophysiology), energy conversion (fuels, batteries) and for future bioelectronics. Recent high-resolution structures of respiratory and photosynthetic complexes and their multiple redox partners provide a big picture of electron flow at the cell level, and may pave the way to understand underlying mechanisms with atomic detail. In bacteria, the discovery of highly conducting nanowires that allow electron transfer across long distances could revolutionize nanotechnology and bioelectronics. The fundamental understanding of these processes and their application to build nano-bio-devices are the object of intensive research. Electrochemical processes combine ionic and electronic transport, and their study in biological processes is leading to insights into the coupling between the two transports. Understanding the critical role of the coupling between ionic and electronic transport will be key to control these processes.

This symposium is intended to join researchers from diverse disciplines who may not normally meet in the same conference, and to become a forum to present and learn from each other’s research in the emerging field of electronic and ionic-electronic transport in biology.

biological synthesis (assembly) biomaterial biomimetic (assembly) electrical properties electronic material electronic structure ionic conductor scanning probe microscopy (SPM) simulation water