Energy harvesting using uniaxially aligned cardiomyocytes

This paper presents the concept of energy harvesting from uniaxially-aligned cardiomyocytes (CMs) on a flexible substrate for the first time. Experimentally, synchronously contracting neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVCMs) at 0.5Hz have been found to cause the mechanical straining of a piezoelectric energy harvester to produce 87.5nA and 92.3mV of peak current and voltage, respectively. This work has been accomplished: (a) fabrication of a bio-hybrid energy harvester combining living cells, bio-compatible PDMS polymer substrate and piezoelectric PVDF films; (b) engineered living cell patterns on PDMS with uniaxially-aligned direction for enhanced mechanical actuation; and (c) up to one month of continuous synchronous contractions from NRVCMs for energy harvesting demonstration. This paper will detail the concept, design, fabrication, and experiments of the bio-hybrid energy harvester.