A nanoscale biofuel cell for self-powered nanotechnology devices

Nanotechnology researchers working on self-powered nanodevices – nanoscale systems that scavenge energy from their surrounding environment – have been experimenting with various power sources ranging from piezoelectric systems ("Electricity-generating silicone implants could power electronic devices") to sound ("Nanotechnology energy generation using sound").

However, the most abundant energy available in biosystems is chemical and biochemical energy, such as glucose. Researchers in China have now reported a nanowire-based biofuel cell (NBFC) based on a single proton conductive polymer nanowire for converting chemical energy from biofluids into electricity, using glucose oxidase and laccase as catalyst.

"We have demonstrated an innovative single nanowire biofuel cell for harvesting chemical/biochemical energy for powering in vivo nanodevices," Caofeng Pan tells Nanowerk. "The output of our NBFC is sufficient to drive pH, glucose or photon sensors. The high output power, low cost and easy fabrication process, large-scale manufacturability, high 'on-chip' integrability and stability demonstrates its great potential for in vivo biosensing."