BIOBATAREYKA charged from the oxidation of glucose RIGHT IN THE BODY
Adam Heller, together with colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin has developed a biobatareyku - a miniature device that is implanted under the skin or into the spinal canal and receives power from the direct oxidation of glucose in the body. The energy generated by this battery, enough to fuel sensors, such as the level of sugar in the blood.
The principle of operation of the device is simple enough. The battery consists of two electrodes fiber length of 2 cm and a thickness of about seven thousandths of a millimeter. One of the fibers coated with a polymer material on the surface of the molecule is glucose oxidase - the enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of glucose. The polymeric coating provides contact between the enzyme molecules and the fibers and the run-off it electrons.
Other fiber contains another enzyme molecule attached, which donates electrons to oxygen atoms. Thus, the fibers formed between the electron density gradient that allows an electric current.
However, while the power of such a battery is very low - only about 1.9 microwatts, which is approximately equal to the power battery watches.
The idea of creating batteries that would benefit from electricity directly from body fluids, is not new - a device powered by the oxidation of glucose, were first created about 40 years ago. However, to ensure that such devices can be used in the practice of implantation must meet a number of requirements, in particular, have small dimensions and operate at elevated temperature, acidity and the presence of salts, typical internal environment. To achieve these properties has been just now: battery Heller operates at normal blood temperature - 37 degrees Celsius - and the level of acidity (pH) of the order of 7.2.
The idea of using the described battery cells to power an artificial heart until it is realistic due to the small capacity of the batteries as well as its fragility - as long as such a battery will lose, on average, up to 6% of power per day. However, as the fancy Heller even enough to use biobatareyki research purposes, e.g., for powering sensors animal body during the experiment period of up to several days.
Now scientists face a series of challenges, among which, in particular, improving the efficiency of the batteries they have created in a complex salt solution, which is the internal environment of the body.
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