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Single Glucose Biofuel Cells Implanted in Rats Power Electronic Devices

2013; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 3; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/srep01516

2045-2322

Abdelkader Zebda, Serge Cosnier, Jean‐Pierre Alcaraz, Michael Holzinger, Alan Le Goff, Chantal Gondran, François Boucher, Fabien Giroud, Karine Gorgy, H. Lamraoui, Philippe Cinquin,

Conducting polymers and applications

We describe the first implanted glucose biofuel cell (GBFC) that is capable of generating sufficient power from a mammal's body fluids to act as the sole power source for electronic devices. This GBFC is based on carbon nanotube/enzyme electrodes, which utilize glucose oxidase for glucose oxidation and laccase for dioxygen reduction. The GBFC, implanted in the abdominal cavity of a rat, produces an average open-circuit voltage of 0.57 V. This implanted GBFC delivered a power output of 38.7 μW, which corresponded to a power density of 193.5 μW cm−2 and a volumetric power of 161 μW mL−1. We demonstrate that one single implanted enzymatic GBFC can power a light-emitting diode (LED), or a digital thermometer. In addition, no signs of rejection or inflammation were observed after 110 days implantation in the rat.