A tiny lithium-ion battery has been developed for a range of biological applications. The battery assembly is placed in a drop of water. It can be used in systems to stimulate the heart muscle, deliver drugs and power medical nanorobots. The battery has been tested on mice and will one day be used to treat humans.
A dummy of a “drip battery” enlarged 50 times for clarity. Image source: University of Oxford
The ultra-tiny lithium battery is based on a biohydrogel. Adding surfactants to the solution forms a kind of garland from drops of biohydrogel. Some drops perform the function of a separator (separator), as in large batteries that separate the cathode and anode, while other drops contain ions of lithium salts, which, when creating a circuit, begin to move from one drop to another, creating a current and a potential difference at the opposite ends of the “garland.” “
The volume of each drop is only 10 nL (nanoliters). All components of such a battery are biodegradable and biocompatible. This was confirmed by experiments on mice in whose heart tissue such a battery was placed. In this case, the device prevents cardiac arrhythmia caused by chaotic (painful) contractions of the heart muscles. The use of such a device, which requires minimal surgical intervention for implantation into cardiac tissue, will allow people to remain healthy and alive, since cardiac arrhythmias are one of the common causes of death.
According to scientists from the University of Oxford, who invented and applied for a patent for the “drip battery”, such a battery could also deliver medicine and serve as a rechargeable power source for nanorobots.