Intracellular recordings were made from isolated frog sciatic-sartorius nerve-muscle preparations, and the effects of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1-P) on miniature endplate potentials (MEPPs) were studied. Extracellular application of S1-P (1 and 30 μM) had no significant effects on the frequency and amplitude of MEPPs. Delivery into nerve terminals by liposomes containing 10-5, 10-4 or 10-3 M S1-P was associated with a concentration-dependent increase in MEPP frequency of 37, 63 and 86%. The per cent of median MEPP amplitude was not significantly changed, but there was an increase in the number of 'giant' MEPPs. Pre-exposure of the preparations to S1-P 10-5 but not 10-8 M entrapped in liposomes for 15 min blocked the effects of subsequent superfusion of S1-P (10-4 M)-filled liposomes on MEPP frequency. Thus, intracellular S1-P receptors seem to undergo 'desensitization' to higher concentrations of S1-P. The result provides the first evidence that S1-P acting intracellularly but not extracellularly enhances spontaneous transmitter release at the frog neuromuscular junction.

The F420-dependent NADP reductase of Methanobrevibacter smithii has been partially purified employing a combination of affinity chromatography with Blue Sepharose (Cl-6B) and molecular sieve chromatography with Sephacryl S-200, The enzyme, which requires reduced F420 as an electron donor, has been purified over 145 fold with a recovery of 6%. A molecular weight of 120,00 for the native enzyme was determined by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. A subunit molecular weight of 28,200 was determined by SDS-PAGE, indicating that the native enzyme is a tetramer. The optimal temperature for enzymatic activity was found to be 45°C, with a pH optimum of 7.5. The NADP reductase had an apparent Km of 42 uM for reduced F420, and an apparent Km of 4l uM for NADP. The enzyme was stable in 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer (plus 10 mM cysteine) at pH 7.0, when gassed with nitrogen or hydrogen and stored at 4°C.

O balanço redox em mitocôndrias de mamíferos é realizado pelo transportador de aspartato-glutamato (AGC), o qual é o principal mecanismo para o movimento de equivalentes redutores na forma de NADH. A citrulinemia do tipo II (CTLN2) é uma doença autossômica recessiva de início tardio, causada por mutações no gene SLC25A13 que codifica a citrina. A citrina é uma isoforma do transportador AGC e catalisa o transporte de glutamato citosólico através da troca com o aspartato mitocondrial, o qual será utilizado no ciclo da ureia. A CTLN2 promove uma deficiência no ciclo da ureia e consequente hiperamonemia. A deficiência da citrina promove um aumento da razão NADH/NAD+ citosólica. O aumento dessa razão inibe a glicólise e a gliconeogênese. O desenvolvimento de modelo in vitro da CTLN2 é importante para estudos do mecanismo da doença e de novas terapias. A expressão heteróloga de proteínas entre diferentes reinos tem sido utilizado como uma forma de corrigir algumas doenças mitocondriais. Estudos bioquímicos e moleculares em nosso laboratório demonstraram a presença de um transportador mitocondrial de nicotinamida adenina dinucleotídeo (Ndt1) em Aspergillus fumigatus. Ndt1 realiza o transporte de NAD+ citosólico para a matriz mitocondrial, sendo dessa forma uma proteína importante para manter o balanço redox em A. fumigatus. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi obter uma linhagem de células de mamífero HEK293 com knockdown para o gene SLC25A13, ou seja, um modelo in vitro de CTLN2 e a expressão heteróloga da proteína Ndt1 como uma forma de recuperação do metabolismo. As células com knockdown para o gene SLC25A13 apresentaram um aumento da razão NADH/NAD+ citosólico, redução da glicólise, redução da concentração da ureia e aumento da concentração de amônia. A expressão de Ndt1 foi capaz de reduzir a razão NADH/NAD+ citosólico e recuperou a atividade glicolítica. Entretanto, a expressão de Ndt1 não foi capaz de aumentar a concentração de ureia e reduzir a concentração de amônia causadas pela CTLN2. Dessa forma, nossos resultados sugerem que a expressão da proteína Ndt1 em células de mamíferos recupera o metabolismo mitocondrial e atividade glicolítica das células com CTLN2, mas não melhora o ciclo da ureia e o aumento da concentração de amônia. / Redox balance in mammalian mitochondria is performed by the aspartate-glutamate carrier (AGC), which is the main mechanism for the movement of reducing equivalents in the form of NADH.Type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) is an adult-onset autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in SLC25A13 gene, and that coding citrin. Citrin is an isoform of AGC and catalyzes the transport of cytosolic glutamate through exchange with mitochondrial aspartate. It will be used in the urea cycle. CTLN2 causes urea cycle deficiency and hyperammonemia. Citrin deficiency cause an increase in the cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio. The increase in this ratio inhibits glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The development an in vitro CTLN2 model is important for new studies about the disease mechanism and new therapies. Heterologous expression of proteins from different organisms has been used to recover some mitochondrial diseases. Biochemical and molecular studies in our laboratory demonstrated the presence of a mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide transporter (Ndt1) in Aspergillus fumigatus. Ndt1 protein performs cytosolic NAD+ transport to the mitochondria matrix, thus being an important protein to keep the redox balance in A. fumigatus. Thus, the aim of this work was to obtain a line of HEK293 mammalian cells with knockdown for the SLC25A13 gene, an in vitro CTLN2 model and the heterologous expression of the Ndt1 protein as a form of metabolism recovery. Cells with citrin knockdown showed an increase of cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio, reduction of glycolysis, reduction of urea concentration, and increase of ammonia concentration. Expression of Ndt1 protein was able to reduce cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio and recovered the glycolytic activity. However, Ndt1 protein was not able to increase the urea concentration and reduce of ammonia concentration caused by CTLN2. Thus, our results suggest that expression of Ndt1 protein in mammal cells recovers the mitochondrial metabolism and glycolytic activity in CTLN2 cells but does not improve urea cycle and reduce ammonia concentration.

O A. fumigatus é um fungo saprofítico e tornou-se um dos principais agente patogênico oportunista em pacientes imunossuprimidos. Estudos prévios em nosso laboratório foi demonstrado que em mitocôndrias de P. brasiliensis e de A. fumigatus, o NAD+ era capaz de induzir a formação de potencial de membrana mitocondrial, o qual podia ser dissipado por FCCP, sugerindo a presença de um transportador de NAD+/NADH, conforme havia sido descrito em S. cerevisiae. Através de ferramentas de bioinformática, foi identificado no Aspergillus Gene Database, uma sequência com 32% de identidade com o gene ndt1p de S. cerevisiae. A sequência de cDNA, contendo 1.194 pb foi obtida usando PCR-Overlaping e clonada em vetor pGEM®-T Easy. Em seguida, a sequência foi subclonada em vetor de expressão pET28-a(+) e expressa em E. coli BL21(DE3). A proteína recombinante foi purificada a partir dos corpos de inclusão e sua identidade confirmada por espectrometria de massas e por Western Blotting usando anticorpo anti-His-tag. A proteína recombinante foi utilizada para produção de anticorpo policlonal anti-Ndt1 em coelho. Para expressão em levedura, o cDNA do gene ndt1 de A. fumigatus foi subclonado em vetor pYES2 e as leveduras S. cerevisiae ?ndt1?ndt2 foram transformadas. Foi realizada a curva de crescimento e indução da expressão da proteína recombinante Ndt1, a presença da proteína foi detectada utilizando anticorpo policlonal anti-Ndt1 após 16 horas de expressão. Nesse período foi verificado que as leveduras estavam em fase de crescimento exponencial. A cepa duplo mutante apresenta uma taxa de crescimento menor quando comparada com a cepa expressando a proteína recombinante quando crescidas em meio fermentável. As mitocôndrias isoladas de ambas as cepas foram submetidas à medida do potencial de membrana onde apresentavam acoplamento entre a oxidação de substratos e a fosforilação oxidativa. Além disso, ficou evidenciado que na cepa expressando a proteína recombinante, NAD+ induziu a formação de um potencial de membrana maior que na cepa controle. O transporte de NAD+ foi realizado e demonstrou que a cepa expressando a proteína Ndt1 tinha um aumento na fluorescência de NADH, mostrando que NAD+ foi capaz de entrar na matriz mitocondrial e posteriormente ser reduzido a NADH por enzimas da matriz mitocondrial. A determinação da produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio foi realizada utilizando as sondas fluorescentes CM-H2DCFDA e MitoSox Red em esferoplastos da levedura S. cerevisiae. Ambos experimentos não houve diferença significativa entre a cepa expressando a proteína Ndt1 e a cepa controle. As proteínas carboniladas foram determinadas utilizando anticorpo anti-DNP, após a reação com dinitrofenilhidrazona e não há diferença significativa entre as cepas. Finalmente, para confirmação da localização celular da proteína Ndt1, os esferoplastos de S. cerevisiae foram submetidos à microscopia confocal, onde ficou evidenciado a co-localização da proteína Ndt1 com as mitocôndrias na cepa de S. cerevisiae transformada com a construção pYES/ndt1, o mesmo perfil não foi observado na cepa ?ndt1?ndt2. / The A. fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus and is a major opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed patients. Previous studies in our lab has showed that mitochondrias of the P. brasiliensis and A. fumigatus, NAD+ is able to induce the formation of mitochondrial membrane potential, which could be dissipated by FCCP, suggesting the presence of a NAD+/NADH carrier as described in S. cerevisiae. Using bioinformatics tools, it was identified in Aspergillus Gene database a sequence containing 32% of identity with the gene ndt1p of S. cerevisiae. A fragment of cDNA was obtained from the ndt1p mRNA sequence, containing 1194 bp by using PCR-overlaping and cloned in pGEM®-T Easy vector. Then, the sequence was subcloned in pET28-a(+) vector and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant protein was purified from inclusion bodies and the identity confirmed by mass spectrometry and by Western Blotting using anti-His-tag antibody. The recombinant protein was used to produce polyclonal antibody anti-Ndt1 in rabbit. For expression in yeast, the ndt1 cDNA of A. fumigatus was subcloned into pYES2 vector and the yeast S. cerevisiae ?ndt1?ndt2 were transformed. Growth curve and induction of the recombinant protein expression Ndt1 was performed and the protein was detected using a polyclonal anti-Ndt1 antibody after 16 hours of expression. During this period it was found that the yeast were in exponential growth phase. The double mutant strain shows a slower growth rate compared to the strain expressing the recombinant protein growth rate when grown in fermentable medium. The isolated mitochondria from both strains were subjected to measurement of the membrane potential which showed coupling between substrate oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, these measurements evidenced that the strain expressing the recombinant protein NAD+ induced the formation of a membrane potential larger than the control strain. The transport NAD+ was evaluated and showed that the strain expressing the protein Ndt1 has an increase in NADH fluorescence, indicating that NAD+ was able to enter into the mitochondrial matrix and then reduced to NADH by enzymes from the matrix. The determination of the production of reactive oxygen species was performed using the fluorescent probe CM-H2DCFDA and MitoSox Red in spheroplasts of the yeast S. cerevisiae. Both experiments showed no significant difference between the strain expressing Ndt1 protein and strain control. The carbonylated proteins levels were checked using anti-DNP, after the reaction with dinitrophenylhydrazone and there is no significant difference between the strains. Finally, to confirm the cellular localization of the protein Ndt1, spheroplasts of S. cerevisiae were subjected to confocal microscopy, which evidenced the co-location of Ndt1 protein with mitochondria in S. cerevisiae strain transformed with the construction pYES/ndt1. This same profile was not observed in strain ?ndt1?ndt2.

Biological wastewater treatment relies on the diverse and complex metabolic activities of bacteria to remove pollutants. Its success depends on the metabolic efficiency of the bacteria. Activated sludge models use parameters that attempt to depict bacterial growth and metabolic processes. However, current methods do not separate metabolic activity from growth and maintenance. As a result, activated sludge processes are misinterpreted or over-simplified. Alternative methods for gauging bacterial activity have been proposed and include the measurements of cellular derived compounds that relate specifically to energy cycling and include Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide [NADH]. To date, NADH has been largely measured within activated sludge using commercial online fluorimeters with in situ probes. However, this current method provides a measure of the 'bulk' (raw) fluorescence within the system, resulting in difficulties when interpreting fluorescence data and poor sensitivity for detecting changes in intracellular [NADH]. This study has developed a more reliable method for estimating intracellular [NADH] and thus metabolic activity within activated sludge systems. Separating extracellular from intracellular [NADH] in samples was crucial because NADH was released and accumulates in the extracellular environment at a concentration of 200 ~M immediately following bacterial death or lysis. This concentration did not decline overtime. This not only caused high background fluorescence but also reduced the sensitivity of detection for changes in intracellular [NADH]. In particular, considerably higher [NADH] values to those from the extracellular suspensions were obtained following extraction of the intracellular material, suggesting that the cell membranes were not being penetrated by the excitable light source. Of the extraction procedures examined, filtration followed by extraction of the intracellular material with a hot Tris buffer was the most efficient and was recommended for accurate estimates of intracellular [NADH] in situ. In addition, standards were used to quantify NADH (moles per cell and/or unit volume) from unknown samples. The limits of detection were found to be 1.058 - 353 uM, whereas concentrations above 353 jAM self-quenched. Sample concentrations were always within these limits of detection. Hence, the sensitivity, reliability and experimental application of the original method was improved upon and able to be used for the direct measurement of microbial metabolic activity, something that has not been demonstrated before now. This study found that bacteria have between 106~ I 08 NADH molecules per cell depending on their metabolic state. A highly metabolically active bacterial cell had between 1O6~ tO7 NADH molecules, while a less active bacterial cell had between to7 -to8 NADH molecules. These measurements of metabolic activity were simultaneously monitored alongside other measures of bacterial growth, such as the incorporation of radiolabelled thymidine into DNA as a direct measure of DNA replication (new cell synthesis), the incorporation of radiolabelled leucine into protein as a direct measure of protein synthesis, oxygen uptake rates (OUR) as a direct measure of respiration, ATP as a measure of potential energy and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as a measure of substrate assimilation. As OUR deceased, bacterial growth (using both the thymidine and leucine assays), specific [NADH] and specific [ATP] increased. High OUR and substrate oxidation rates simultaneous with low specific [NADH] indicated high rates of electron transport and thus efficient metabolic activity. Also, low OUR and substrate oxidation rates simultaneous with high specific [NADHI indicated inefficient rates of electron transport, therefore inhibiting oxidative phosphorylation (ATP production). A lack of oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor did not efficiently reoxidise NADH to NAD and resulted in an accumulation of NADH within the cell. Thus, a measure of low specific [NADHI was linked to the efficient rate of reoxidation of NADH to NAD* and reflects high metabolic efficiency. DNA and protein syntheses were coupled following substrate enrichment (glucose or acetate), indicating that bacteria were in balanced growth. However, DNA and protein syntheses became uncoupled once substrate was depleted, indicating unbalanced growth. An average Leu:TdR ratio of 7.4 was determined for activated sludge and was comparable to values published from marine systems. This ratio increased during log growth phase and decreased during stationary growth phases. Specific growth rates determined using the [3HITdR and [3H]Leu assay yielded values ranging from 2 - 10.5 d' and from 2.5 - 6 d1, respectively and were comparable to published values. Changes in OUR, NADH, ATE', DNA replication and protein synthesis were statistically ordinated using multidimensional scaling, and changes (in magnitude and direction) in bacterial metabolic activity were observed. Such methods enable the tracing of where bacteria divert their energies, such as to growth or maintenance and thus provide a greater understanding of bacterial behaviour in activated sludge. While studying anoxic and anaerobic conditions were beyond the scope of this work, the use of such methods to monitor bacterial metabolic activity under such conditions is warranted.

O A. fumigatus é um fungo saprofítico e tornou-se um dos principais agente patogênico oportunista em pacientes imunossuprimidos. Estudos prévios em nosso laboratório foi demonstrado que em mitocôndrias de P. brasiliensis e de A. fumigatus, o NAD+ era capaz de induzir a formação de potencial de membrana mitocondrial, o qual podia ser dissipado por FCCP, sugerindo a presença de um transportador de NAD+/NADH, conforme havia sido descrito em S. cerevisiae. Através de ferramentas de bioinformática, foi identificado no Aspergillus Gene Database, uma sequência com 32% de identidade com o gene ndt1p de S. cerevisiae. A sequência de cDNA, contendo 1.194 pb foi obtida usando PCR-Overlaping e clonada em vetor pGEM®-T Easy. Em seguida, a sequência foi subclonada em vetor de expressão pET28-a(+) e expressa em E. coli BL21(DE3). A proteína recombinante foi purificada a partir dos corpos de inclusão e sua identidade confirmada por espectrometria de massas e por Western Blotting usando anticorpo anti-His-tag. A proteína recombinante foi utilizada para produção de anticorpo policlonal anti-Ndt1 em coelho. Para expressão em levedura, o cDNA do gene ndt1 de A. fumigatus foi subclonado em vetor pYES2 e as leveduras S. cerevisiae ?ndt1?ndt2 foram transformadas. Foi realizada a curva de crescimento e indução da expressão da proteína recombinante Ndt1, a presença da proteína foi detectada utilizando anticorpo policlonal anti-Ndt1 após 16 horas de expressão. Nesse período foi verificado que as leveduras estavam em fase de crescimento exponencial. A cepa duplo mutante apresenta uma taxa de crescimento menor quando comparada com a cepa expressando a proteína recombinante quando crescidas em meio fermentável. As mitocôndrias isoladas de ambas as cepas foram submetidas à medida do potencial de membrana onde apresentavam acoplamento entre a oxidação de substratos e a fosforilação oxidativa. Além disso, ficou evidenciado que na cepa expressando a proteína recombinante, NAD+ induziu a formação de um potencial de membrana maior que na cepa controle. O transporte de NAD+ foi realizado e demonstrou que a cepa expressando a proteína Ndt1 tinha um aumento na fluorescência de NADH, mostrando que NAD+ foi capaz de entrar na matriz mitocondrial e posteriormente ser reduzido a NADH por enzimas da matriz mitocondrial. A determinação da produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio foi realizada utilizando as sondas fluorescentes CM-H2DCFDA e MitoSox Red em esferoplastos da levedura S. cerevisiae. Ambos experimentos não houve diferença significativa entre a cepa expressando a proteína Ndt1 e a cepa controle. As proteínas carboniladas foram determinadas utilizando anticorpo anti-DNP, após a reação com dinitrofenilhidrazona e não há diferença significativa entre as cepas. Finalmente, para confirmação da localização celular da proteína Ndt1, os esferoplastos de S. cerevisiae foram submetidos à microscopia confocal, onde ficou evidenciado a co-localização da proteína Ndt1 com as mitocôndrias na cepa de S. cerevisiae transformada com a construção pYES/ndt1, o mesmo perfil não foi observado na cepa ?ndt1?ndt2. / The A. fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus and is a major opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed patients. Previous studies in our lab has showed that mitochondrias of the P. brasiliensis and A. fumigatus, NAD+ is able to induce the formation of mitochondrial membrane potential, which could be dissipated by FCCP, suggesting the presence of a NAD+/NADH carrier as described in S. cerevisiae. Using bioinformatics tools, it was identified in Aspergillus Gene database a sequence containing 32% of identity with the gene ndt1p of S. cerevisiae. A fragment of cDNA was obtained from the ndt1p mRNA sequence, containing 1194 bp by using PCR-overlaping and cloned in pGEM®-T Easy vector. Then, the sequence was subcloned in pET28-a(+) vector and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant protein was purified from inclusion bodies and the identity confirmed by mass spectrometry and by Western Blotting using anti-His-tag antibody. The recombinant protein was used to produce polyclonal antibody anti-Ndt1 in rabbit. For expression in yeast, the ndt1 cDNA of A. fumigatus was subcloned into pYES2 vector and the yeast S. cerevisiae ?ndt1?ndt2 were transformed. Growth curve and induction of the recombinant protein expression Ndt1 was performed and the protein was detected using a polyclonal anti-Ndt1 antibody after 16 hours of expression. During this period it was found that the yeast were in exponential growth phase. The double mutant strain shows a slower growth rate compared to the strain expressing the recombinant protein growth rate when grown in fermentable medium. The isolated mitochondria from both strains were subjected to measurement of the membrane potential which showed coupling between substrate oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, these measurements evidenced that the strain expressing the recombinant protein NAD+ induced the formation of a membrane potential larger than the control strain. The transport NAD+ was evaluated and showed that the strain expressing the protein Ndt1 has an increase in NADH fluorescence, indicating that NAD+ was able to enter into the mitochondrial matrix and then reduced to NADH by enzymes from the matrix. The determination of the production of reactive oxygen species was performed using the fluorescent probe CM-H2DCFDA and MitoSox Red in spheroplasts of the yeast S. cerevisiae. Both experiments showed no significant difference between the strain expressing Ndt1 protein and strain control. The carbonylated proteins levels were checked using anti-DNP, after the reaction with dinitrophenylhydrazone and there is no significant difference between the strains. Finally, to confirm the cellular localization of the protein Ndt1, spheroplasts of S. cerevisiae were subjected to confocal microscopy, which evidenced the co-location of Ndt1 protein with mitochondria in S. cerevisiae strain transformed with the construction pYES/ndt1. This same profile was not observed in strain ?ndt1?ndt2.

The reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) protects against redox stress by providing reducing equivalents to antioxidants such as glutathione and thioredoxin. NADPH levels decline with aging in several tissues, but whether this is a major driving force for the aging process has not been well established. Global or neural overexpression of several cytoplasmic enzymes that synthesize NADPH have been shown to extend lifespan in model organisms such as Drosophila suggesting a positive relationship between cytoplasmic NADPH levels and longevity. Mitochondrial NADPH plays an important role in the protection against redox stress and cell death and mitochondrial NADPH-utilizing thioredoxin reductase 2 levels correlate with species longevity in cells from rodents and primates. Mitochondrial NADPH shuttles allow for some NADPH flux between the cytoplasm and mitochondria. Since a decline of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ) is linked with aging and because NADP + is exclusively synthesized from NAD + by cytoplasmic and mitochondrial NAD + kinases, a decline in the cytoplasmic or mitochondrial NADPH pool may also contribute to the aging process. Therefore pro-longevity therapies should aim to maintain the levels of both NAD + and NADPH in aging tissues.

Nicotinic acid-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is a recently described potent intracellular Ca2+-mobilizing messenger active in a wide range of diverse cell types. In the present study, we have investigated the interaction of NAADP with other Ca2+-mobilizing messengers in the release of transmitter at the frog neuromuscular junction. We show, for the first time, that NAADP enhances neurosecretion in response to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), cADP-ribose (cADPR) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), but not sphingosylphosphorylcholine. Thapsigargin was without effect on transmitter release in response to NAADP, but blocked the responses to subsequent application of IP3, cADPR and S1P and their potentiation by NAADP. Asynchronous neurotransmitter release may therefore involve functional coupling of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores with distinct Ca2+ stores targeted by NAADP.

The mechanism by which nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) stimulates the activity of adenylate cyclase (AC) in canine plasma membrane has been studied. Using [3 2P]-NAD, the activation by NAD was correlated with the radiolabeling of the stimulatory guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding protein Gsa. Further characterization demonstrated that the modification occurred only in the presence of G-protein activators and that arginine residue(s) were modified by ADP-ribose by the action of a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase. Inhibitors of the transferase blocked both the modification of Gsa and the activation of AC. Collectively, these studies suggest that ADP-ribosylation of Gsa by an endogenous mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase may regulate cardiac AC.

Diferentes estratégias têm sido propostas a fim de melhorar o desempenho dos bioeletrodos utilizados nas biocélulas a combustíveis e nos biossensores. Por examplo, a funcionalização de eletrodos de carbono tem sido feita para esse fim. Neste estudo, propomos o desenvolvimento de fibras flexíveis de carbono (FFCs) funcionalizadas com grupos quinona e modificados com álcool desidrogenase (ADH) NAD-dependente para obter bioeletrodos para uma bio-eletrocatálise eficiente de etanol. Grupos quinona na superfície das FFCs foram obtidas utilizando o tratamento oxidativo com permanganato e também pelo ancoramento eletroquímico de antraquinona: ambas metodologias resultaram em bioeletrodos para a eletro-oxidação de NADH que pode aumentar a bio-eletrocatálise do etanol. De acordo dados espectroscópicos, microscópicos, e eletroquímicos, defeitos contendo grupos C=O nos eletrodos de FFCs são atribuídos à melhora na oxidação do NADH, aumentando a bio-eletrocatálise do etanol. Para se investigar o papel dos grupos quinona na eletro-oxidação do NADH, propomos uma configuração experimental baseado na espectroscopia de ressonância paramagnética de elétrons em modo operando (operando EPR). Com essa técnica, fomos capaz de mostrar a correlação entre o número de elétrons livres desemparelhados, a concentração superficial de quinonas e a oxidação do NADH com controle eletroquímico. Correlação para a concentração de spins revela um aumento no número de elétrons desemparelhados livres com o aumento do sobrepotencial aplicado e a oxidação do NADH, o que corrabora com a hipótese de que grupos quinona podem afetar a eletrocatálise rumo à oxidação do NADH a NAD+. É vislumbrado que operando EPR pode fornecer infromação útil para provar a dinâmica da transferência de elétrons em superfície de carbono e possa ser extendida a outros sistemas bioeletroquímicos. / There are several strategies to improve the performance of bioelectrodes applied in biosensors and biofuel cells. For instance, surface functionalization of the carbon-based electrodes has been used to this intend. Herein, we propose the development of flexible carbon fibers (FCFs) functionalized with quinone groups and modified with NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) to obtain bioelectrodes for efficient ethanol bio-electrocatalysis. Quinones groups on FCFs surfaces were obtained by using oxidative treatment with permanganate, and also by electrochemical grafting of anthraquinone: both these methodologies result in bioelectrodes for the electro-oxidation of NADH that can improve the ethanol bio-electrocatalysis. Based on spectroscopic, microscopic and electrochemical data, defects containing C=O groups on FCFs electrodes are attributed to improve the NADH oxidation, enhancing the ethanol bio-electrocatalysis. In order to investigate the role of quinone groups on the NADH electro-oxidation, we propose an experimental setup based on operando electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (operando EPR). With this technique, we are able to show a correlation among the number of free unpaired electrons, surface concentration of quinones and NADH oxidation under electrochemical control. Correlation for the spin concentration reveals an increasing number of free unpaired electrons with increasing applied overpotential and NADH oxidation, which corroborates the hypothesis that quinone groups can act as electrocatalysts towards the oxidation of NADH to NAD+. It is glimpsed that operando EPR can provide useful information in probing the electron transfer dynamics on a carbon surface and may be extended to others bioelectrochemical systems.