Scientists in China have made an energy source for wireless nanobiodevices, such as nanorobots and cardiac pacemakers, that could be implanted under the skin.
The device comprises a photovoltaic cell that converts laser energy into electrical energy. The team optimised its performance by improving a couple of components – the nanophosphor and electrolyte. This resulted in an output power of 45µW under normal circumstances and 22 µW when covered by a 1mm thick layer of chicken skin.
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, DOI: 10.1039/C2JM33742H (Advance Article)
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