Biofuel cells: a possible power source for implantable electronic devices

Biofuel cells were designed to investigate electricity production from Escherichia coli and human white blood cells as a preliminary investigation into the possible future use of such fuel cells as power sources for implantable electronic devices. The biofuel cell´s function is based on the coupling of glucose oxidation to the reduction of oxygen to water. It might, therefore, be possible to utilize the cellular processes involved in oxidative metabolism to generate electrical energy for numerous medical applications. In the bacteria experiment, we were able to generate small electrical currents, which gradually decreased over a (2) hour measurement period. In the human white blood cell experiment, our biofuel cell attained current outputs, which were smaller in magnitude than values recorded from the microbial biofuel cell.