“Mechanically Confined” Glucose BioFuel Cell Implanted in Rats

Although many have attempted to find a way to draw power from the human body to deliver energy to implanted devices, none have succeeded in delivering enough energy to do anything meaningful. A team of French researchers has now for the first time implanted a glucose biofuel cell in rats. Such fuel cells use glucose and dioxygen from the extra-cellular fluid to generate power. Initial work on these cells was done in the seventies, however as these projects did not deliver enough energy there has been little progress until recently. By using specific enzymes and mechanical confinement of the redox mediators and enzymes, the current researchers have been able to produce power compatible with the requirements of a pacemaker and potentially sufficient for powering a robotized artificial urinary sphincter. In vitro, the cells produced a peak power of 24.4 µW/mL, and a stable power of more than 7.52 µW/mL. In vivo less power was generated because of less optimal glucose and oxygen concentrations. The investigators implanted the biofuel cell in the retroperitoneal space of freely moving rats, in which they obtained a stable 2 µW in a device of some milliliters. They also showed urea could also be used as a power source instead of glucose. It is expected that in the future it will be possible to create biofuel cells producing tens of milliwatts or more. The findings have been published in PLoS One, linked below.
Article: A Glucose BioFuel Cell Implanted in Rats…