Electrochemical control of enzymatic catalysis using programmable chemical actuators

Authors: EVANS, J. PARKER - The Ohio State University; SATAGOPAN, SRIRAM - The Ohio State University; SUNDARESAN, VISHNU - The Ohio State University; Cornish, Katrina

Submitted to: Microchemical Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/26/2026
Publication Date: 8/29/2026
Citation: Evans, J., Satagopan, S., Sundaresan, V.B., Cornish, K. 2026. Electrochemical control of enzymatic catalysis using programmable chemical actuators. Microchemical Journal. 229. Article 119546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2026.119546.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2026.119546

Interpretive Summary: We report an electrochemical cell that uses selective electrochemical reactions to control the functioning of enzymes. The electrochemical cell, referred to as a programmable chemical actuator (PCA), selectively stratifies cations and anions in the control volume. PCAs were used to reversibly regulate pH between neutral pH and 10.2 to control alkaline phosphatase activity. The framework presented in this article can be extended beyond the demonstrated application to pharmaceutical manufacturing, food processing and other chemistries that can be controlled by ionic concentration.

Technical Abstract: Enzyme catalyzed reactions can be started, stopped or throttled by regulating pH and the concentration of certain ionic species in solution. However, current methods used to vary ionic concentration require exchanging the media which affects the concentration of other essential reagents making it impractical to exploit ionic concentration as a control variable. We report an electrochemical cell that uses selective electrochemical REDOX reactions between the working electrode and counter electrode to regulate the spatiotemporal concentration of ions in a control volume enabling control of enzyme catalyzed reaction kinetics. The electrochemical cell, referred to as a programmable chemical actuator (PCA), selectively stratifies cations and anions in the control volume. We demonstrate selective spatiotemporal control of concentration of various cations and anions via programmable selectivity. Different electrochemical programing strategies were deployed to regulate the concentration of ions from 0.5% – 87% of the electrochemical cell’s volume. PCAs were used to reversibly regulate pH between neutral pH and 10.2 to control the dephosphorylation of para-nitro phenyl phosphate by alkaline phosphatase through an appropriately sized working electrode. A 50% duty cycle increased dephosphorylation rate = 1.5 times the initial rate. The dephosphorylation reaction was halted by increasing the duty cycle to 80% of the oxidation potential. The framework presented in this article can be extended beyond the demonstrated application to pharmaceutical manufacturing, food processing and other chemistries that can be controlled by ionic concentration.