Disposable hydrogen fuel cells for powering next-generation lateral flow devices

Electrical power enables enhanced functionalities in point-of-care diagnostics. This paper presents the first paper-based hydrogen fuel cell, harnessing the hydrogen generated as a by-product of an exothermic reaction used in point-of-care nucleic acid amplification devices. The electrical power produced by the fuel cell can be used for other assay applications including optical detection. The fuel cell delivers a maximum power of 16.5 mW (66 mW cm^-2), which is sufficient to run an electronic pregnancy test that normally operates with a Li-ion battery.