Formaldehyde can inhibit enzymes that produce hydrogen very efficiently. Researchers from Bochum have discovered how this can be prevented.

Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, making them potential biocatalysts for bio-based H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production efficient, researchers are trying to identify and eliminate possible limiting factors. These include formaldehyde, which occurs as a natural metabolic product in cells and inhibits the particularly efficient [FeFe] hydrogenase. A team from Photobiotechnology at Ruhr-Universität Bochum was able to identify and eliminate the underlying mechanism.