Scientists in China have created a laser-driven photovoltaic cell that can produce electrical power for nanobiodevices implanted beneath the skin.
(a) Illustration of a laser-driven photovoltaic cell containing a rare earth nanophosphor nanorod film. (b) and (c) The device on chicken skin with a 980nm laser turned off and on
Wireless nanobiodevices, such as nanorobots and cardiac pacemakers, are currently limited in their applications by their requirement for power. Nanogenerators that convert mechanical energy into electrical power have been investigated, but the output power is too low for many medical nanobiodevices, and biofuel cells that use chemical energy to provide power are severely limited by the in vivo environment of the devices.
Read the full article in Chemistry World.
Construction of 980-nm laser-driven dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell with excellent performance for powering nanobiodevices implanted under the skin
Lisha Zhang, Qiwei Tian, Wenju Xu, Xingyu Kuang, Junqing Hu, Meifang Zhu, Jianshe Liu and Zhigang Chen
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM33742H
