Abstract
Herein we report on a novel enzymatic fuel cell (EFC) based on stencil printed electrodes modified with pyrrolo quinoline quinone glucose dehydrogenase and bilirubin oxidase, which are assembled by considering two different configurations: (i) normal assembling in liquid electrolyte and (ii) six EFCs connected in series, each one comprising both bioanode and biocathode, coupled through a hydrogel-based electrolyte in a stack-like mode similar to a Voltaic pile. After a deep electrodes characterization, they are assembled according to the first configuration obtaining an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.562 ± 0.002 V. Moreover, the EFC performance are substantially improved by using the second configuration (six EFCs connected in series) obtaining an OCV of 2.36 ± 0.22 V with a maximum power output of 22.9 ± 0.9 μW at a cell voltage of 1.95 V (operating in 10 mM D-glucose). This innovative approach represents a proof-of-concept towards the development of renewable power sources and could serve as a critical step in powering implantable bioelectronics, such as pacemakers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 135503 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Mar 2024 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
P B conceived the project and wrote the manuscript. V M and A T performed all electrochemical measurements. N D performed XPS analyses. C D F and G S performed SEM measurements. L T, P B and E M directly supervised V M and A.T. during the project. L T is responsible for funding acquisition. L T, G S, E M and P B revised the manuscript. The final version was approved by all authors.
Keywords
- Enzymatic fuel cell
- Glucose biosensors
- Hydrogel-based electrolyte
- Modified electrodes
- Water-based conductive inks