Uncovering alternate charge transfer mechanisms in Escherichia coli chemically functionalized with conjugated oligoelectrolytes

Conjugated oligoelectrolytes integrated in Escherichia coli have been proposed to act as 'molecular wires', inducing extracellular electron transfer. This is monitored through reduction of HAuCl4 to form gold nanoparticles. In contrast to direct electron transfer, the reduction mechanism was traced to the release of electroactive cytosolic components during oligoelectrolyte incorporation.