Thin film voltammetry of metabolic enzymes in rat liver microsomes

We report herein thin film voltammetry and kinetics of electron transfer for redox proteins in rat liver microsomes for the first time. Films were made layer-by-layer from liver microsomes and polycations on pyrolytic graphite electrodes. Cyclic voltammograms were chemically reversible with a midpoint potential of −0.48 V vs SCE at 0.1 V s−1 in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer. Reduction peak potentials shifted negative at higher scan rates, and oxidation–reduction peak current ratios were ∼1 consistent with non-ideal quasireversible thin film voltammetry. Analysis of oxidation–reduction peak separations gave an average apparent surface electron transfer rate constant of 30 s−1. Absence of significant electrocatalytic reduction of O2 or H2O2 and lack of shift in midpoint potential when CO is added that indicates lack of an iron heme cofactor suggest that peaks can be attributed to oxidoreductases present in the microsomes rather than cytochrome P450 enzymes.