Zurich, 28.03.2024. It is well known that the body does not produce its own insulin in the case of diabetes. It must be supplied to the body from outside. Insulin regulates the blood sugar level. Depending on the intensity of the diabetes, there are also different forms of delivery. One of these is a pump that is worn permanently on the body. These and other devices, such as a pacemaker, require a permanent energy supply on the body. Until now, this has been provided by devices containing batteries.

A team of researchers at ETH Zurich has succeeded in developing an implanted fuel cell. This fuel cell is powered by excess blood sugar, or more precisely glucose, from the tissue.

‘Particularly in western industrialised nations, many people consume more carbohydrates than they need in everyday life,’ says ETH Professor Fussenegger. This leads to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. ‘This gave us the idea of utilising this surplus of metabolic energy to produce electricity for the operation of biomedical devices,’ the biotechnologist continues. The fuel cell, which is the size of a tea bag, is implanted under the skin and contains an electrode consisting of nanoparticles with a copper base. The electrode splits the glucose into gluconic acid and protons and thus sets an electrical circuit in motion. A fleece in an alginate approved for medical products optically forms a teabag format. The algae product alginate soaks up body fluids and allows glucose to pass from the tissue into the interior, similar to a membrane!

Today, it is common to use a smartphone for many things. Depending on the medical technology to be supplied, the fuel cell can be customised via smartphone. Doctors have remote access and can make adjustments. This system is only a prototype. Although the researchers have successfully tested it in a mouse model, they are unable to develop it into a marketable product. ‘Bringing such a device to market maturity is far beyond our financial and human resources,’ says Fussenegger. An industrial partner with the appropriate resources and expertise is therefore required.

Originalpublication:

Maity, D., Ray, P.G., Buchmann, P., Mansouri, M. and Fussenegger, M. (2023), Blood-​Glucose-Powered Metabolic Fuel Cell for Self-​Sufficient Bioelectronics. Adv. Mater. Accepted Author Manuscript 2300890. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300890

More Information

ETH Zuerich, Mit Blutzucker Strom erzeugen
https://ethz.ch/de/news-und-veranstaltungen/eth-news/news/2023/03/medienmitteilung-mit-blutzucker-strom-erzeugen.html