ABSTRACT
The highly efficient bioelectrodes based on single layer graphene (SLG) functionalized with pyrene self-assembled monolayer and novel cytochromec553(cytc553)peptide linker variants were rationally designed to optimize the direct electron transfer (DET) between SLG and the heme group of cyt. Through a combination of photoelectrochemical and quantum mechanical (QM/MM) approaches we show that the specific amino acid sequence of a short peptide genetically inserted between the cytc553holoprotein and thesurface anchoring C-terminal His6-tag plays a crucial role in ensuring the optimal orientation and distance of the heme group with respect to the SLG surface. Consequently, efficient DET occurring between graphene and cyt c553 leads to a 20-fold enhancement of the cathodic photocurrent output compared to the previously reported devices of a similar type. The QM/MM modeling implies that a perpendicular or parallel orientation of the heme group with respect to the SLG surface is detrimental to DET, whereas the tilted orientation favors the cathodic photocurrent generation. Our work confirms the possibility of fine-tuning the electronic communication within complex bio-organic nanoarchitectures and interfaces due to optimization of the tilt angle of the heme group, its distance from the SLG surface and optimal HOMO/LUMO levels of the interacting redox centers.