Microscale gradients and their role in electron-transfer mechanisms in biofilms.

The chemical and electrochemical gradients in biofilms play a critical role in electron-transfer processes between cells and a solid electron acceptor. Most of the time, electron-transfer processes have been investigated in the bulk phase, for a biofilm electrode or for an isolated component of a biofilm. Currently, the knowledge of chemical and electrochemical gradients in living biofilms respiring on a solid surface is limited. We believe the chemical and electrochemical gradients are critical for explaining electron-transfer mechanisms. The bulk conditions, an isolated part of a biofilm or a single cell cannot be used to explain electron-transfer mechanisms in biofilm systems. In addition, microscale gradients explain how the reactor configuration plays a critical role in electron-transfer processes.