Technology Ultrathin Fuel Cell Generates Electricity From Your Body’s Own Sugar

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Engineers have created a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and electronic sensors.

Glucose is a sugar we absorb from the foods we eat. It is the fuel that powers every cell in our bodies. Could glucose also power medical implants of the future?

Engineers at MIT and the Technical University of Munich think so. They have designed a new type of glucose fuel cell that converts glucose directly into electricity. The device is smaller than other proposed glucose fuel cells, measuring just 400 nanometers thick, or about 1/100 the width of a human hair. The sugary power source generates about 43 microwatts per square centimeter of electricity, achieving the highest power density of any glucose fuel cell under ambient conditions to date.

The new device is also resilient, able to withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 Fahrenheit). If incorporated into a medical implant, this high heat tolerance would allow the fuel cell to remain stable through the high-temperature sterilization process required for all implantable devices.

The core of the new device is made from ceramic, a material that retains its electrochemical properties even at high temperatures and miniature scales. The researchers envision the new design could be made into ultrathin films or coatings and wrapped around implants to passively power electronics, using the body’s ample glucose supply.

 
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