Biological-inorganic hybrid systems as a generalized platform for chemical production

An expanding renewable energy market to supplant petrochemicals has motivated synthesis technologies that use renewable feedstocks, such as CO2. Hybrid biological-inorganic systems provide a sustainable, efficient, versatile, and inexpensive chemical synthesis platform. These systems comprise biocompatible electrodes that transduce electrical energy either directly or indirectly into bioavailable energy, such as H2 and NAD(P)H. In combination, specific bacteria use these energetic reducing equivalents to fix CO2 into multi-carbon organic compounds. As hybrid biological-inorganic technologies have developed, the focus has shifted from phenomenological and proof-of-concept discovery towards enhanced energy efficiency, production rate, product scope, and industrial robustness. In this review, we highlight the progress and the state-of-the-art of this field and describe the advantages and challenges involved in designing bio- and chemo- compatible systems.