Researchers from Binghamton University in the United States have created fully soluble a biobattery using probiotics.
It is noted that the battery was created on water-soluble paper. It can generate electricity for 100 minutes and then completely dissolve.
«Transient electronics can be used in biomedical and environmental applications, but they must be degraded in a biosafe manner. You do not want to have toxic residues inside your body. This type of device is called a bioresorbable electronics. For transient or biorefined electronics, the key issue is the power source, as most power sources, such as lithium-ion batteries, include toxic materials», — explains Professor Seokhun Choi, сhair of the Department of electrical and computer engineering in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science.
The researchers pointed to the popular movie «Mission Impossible», in which actor Tom Cruise, playing the role of agent Ethan Hunt, uses a device that self-destructs 5 seconds after sending a message. The researchers emphasized that such electronics is quite real, but the battery remains the most difficult part.
A team of scientists from Binghamton University has been researching for 20 years disposable «paper electronics». In particular, in a new study, Seokhun Choi and his colleagues demonstrate the potential of probiotics. Dr. Seokhun Choi is a doctoral candidate in Laboratories of bioelectronics and microsystems Maede Mohammadifar has created a fully soluble fuel cell made of microbes.
«We used known electricity-producing bacteria that are at Biological Safety Level 1, so they are safe, but we weren’t sure what would happen if these bacteria were released into the wild», — Seokhun Choi notes.
The researchers claim that the battery is powered by commercially available probiotics that are safely dissolved, producing only beneficial microorganisms. The battery is made on water-soluble and pH-sensitive substrates using a probiotic mixture of 15 strains of microorganisms to generate electricity, and electrodes made of different materials. By manipulating the length of the device or encapsulating it in pH-sensitive polymers, the power supply can be fine-tuned from 4 minutes to more than 100 minutes. Each module generates 4 μW of power, 47 μA of current and an open circuit voltage of 0.65 V.
The researchers are convinced that their development opens a new page in the creation of biomedical implants, environmental sensors, and disposable electronics. Researchers have developed an electrode surface that may be better for bacteria, using a polymer and some nanoparticles to hypothetically improve the electrocatalytic behavior of probiotics and give them a boost. Cyclic voltammetric measurements revealed distinct redox peaks when the probiotics were in contact with the modified electrode — clear evidence of electron transfer capacity.
The results of the study were published in the journal Small
Source: Interesting Engineering
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