EES Blog

Efforts made at Clarkson University have demonstrated implantable biofuel cells that can be used to one day generate power for medical implants in humans.

In their most recent feature article, Katz and coworkers have showcased their work towards an implantable energy generation device that could one day be made compatible in humans. One of the largest problems in making implantable biofuel cells practical is generating enough voltage and current to power a device. Using electrodes comprised of compressed multi-walled carbon nanotubes, the researchers have been able to generate 470 mV open circuit voltage, at a current of 5 mA short circuit. Coupled with a DC-DC converter, it was enough power to operate a pacemaker from a single device.

The article goes into detailed explanation, refreshingly, about the current constraints and considerations to be made in order to advance this technology further. One such aspect is to improve the amount of active enzymes on the electrode surface, which is currently only measured at 6% electrically active on the electrodes. By improving this single factor, it is believed that the current density could be large enough for a small (0.5 cm² electrodes) implantable device.

It is postulated in the paper that one day miniature devices could be implanted in the human brain, where a constant source of glucose fuel could be delivered in order to power devices. Who knows, we may soon be pouring over literature from the comfort of our own cranium computers!

Interested? Read the full communication in Energy and Environmental Science here:

Implanted biofuel cells operating in vivo – methods, applications and perspectives
Evgeny Katz, Kevin MacVittie
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE42126K

By David Novitski