Wearable textile biofuel cells for powering electronics

The fabrication and performance of a wearable biofuel cell printed directly onto textile substrates are reported. The textile biofuel cell utilizes physiologically produced sweat lactate as the fuel to generate electrical energy, producing up to 100 μW cm−2 at 0.34 V during in vitro experimentation, even after repeated bending stress. Furthermore, the wearable and flexible biofuel cell can be easily integrated with a portable energy storage device for on-demand powering of wearable electronics. To validate energy harvesting, the biofuel cell is integrated into a headband and a wristband, and with the help of an on-board DC/DC converter, extracts energy from perspiring human subjects for direct powering of an LED or a digital watch. Convenient incorporation and removal from a variety of garments are achieved by printing the biofuel cell on a detachable care label. Such textile-based non-invasive biofuel cells can be expected to serve in the future as the power unit for wearable electronics and biomedical devices.

[1]  Vojtech Svoboda,et al.  Enzyme catalysed biofuel cells , 2008 .

[2]  Frank Davis,et al.  Biofuel cells--recent advances and applications. , 2007, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[3]  Yi Cui,et al.  Energy and environmental nanotechnology in conductive paper and textiles , 2012 .

[4]  Dae-Hyeong Kim,et al.  Flexible and stretchable electronics for biointegrated devices. , 2012, Annual review of biomedical engineering.

[5]  Ji-Beom Yoo,et al.  Highly Stretchable Piezoelectric‐Pyroelectric Hybrid Nanogenerator , 2014, Advanced materials.

[6]  Amay J Bandodkar,et al.  Non-invasive wearable electrochemical sensors: a review. , 2014, Trends in biotechnology.

[7]  Min-Chieh Chuang,et al.  Textile‐based Electrochemical Sensing: Effect of Fabric Substrate and Detection of Nitroaromatic Explosives , 2010 .

[8]  F. Giroud,et al.  Single Glucose Biofuel Cells Implanted in Rats Power Electronic Devices , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[9]  Seon Jeong Kim,et al.  High-power biofuel cell textiles from woven biscrolled carbon nanotube yarns , 2014, Nature Communications.

[10]  K. MacVittie,et al.  A pacemaker powered by an implantable biofuel cell operating under conditions mimicking the human blood circulatory system--battery not included. , 2013, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[11]  L. Castano,et al.  Smart fabric sensors and e-textile technologies: a review , 2014 .

[12]  F. Blaabjerg,et al.  A review of single-phase grid-connected inverters for photovoltaic modules , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications.

[13]  Katz,et al.  Integration of Layered Redox Proteins and Conductive Supports for Bioelectronic Applications. , 2000, Angewandte Chemie.

[14]  Genevieve Dion,et al.  Carbon coated textiles for flexible energy storage , 2011 .

[15]  Ursula E. Spichiger-Keller,et al.  Conductive Organic Complex Salt TTF‐TCNQ as a Mediator for Biosensors. An Overview , 2007 .

[16]  J. Kulys,et al.  Concerning the toxicity of two compounds used as mediators in biosensor devices: 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF). , 1992, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[17]  Michael Holzinger,et al.  Carbon nanotube/enzyme biofuel cells , 2012 .

[18]  E. Katz,et al.  Living battery – biofuel cells operating in vivo in clams , 2012 .

[19]  Philippe Cinquin,et al.  Mediatorless high-power glucose biofuel cells based on compressed carbon nanotube-enzyme electrodes , 2011, Nature communications.

[20]  Joseph Wang,et al.  Thick-film textile-based amperometric sensors and biosensors. , 2010, The Analyst.

[21]  Christopher J. Harvey,et al.  Formulation and stability of a novel artificial human sweat under conditions of storage and use. , 2010, Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA.

[22]  A. Chandrakasan,et al.  Energy extraction from the biologic battery in the inner ear , 2012, Nature Biotechnology.

[23]  Wenzhao Jia,et al.  Epidermal biofuel cells: energy harvesting from human perspiration. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.

[24]  Evgeny Katz,et al.  Implanted biofuel cells operating in vivo – methods, applications and perspectives – feature article , 2013 .

[25]  Guangmin Zhou,et al.  Progress in flexible lithium batteries and future prospects , 2014 .

[26]  E. Katz,et al.  Implanted biofuel cell operating in a living snail. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[27]  Koji Sode,et al.  BioCapacitor--a novel category of biosensor. , 2009, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[28]  Michael Holzinger,et al.  Supercapacitor/biofuel cell hybrids based on wired enzymes on carbon nanotube matrices: autonomous reloading after high power pulses in neutral buffered glucose solutions , 2014 .

[29]  Evgeny Katz,et al.  From “cyborg” lobsters to a pacemaker powered by implantable biofuel cells , 2013 .

[30]  Shelley D Minteer,et al.  Biofuel cells: enhanced enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis. , 2012, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[31]  J. Windmiller,et al.  Electrochemical tattoo biosensors for real-time noninvasive lactate monitoring in human perspiration. , 2013, Analytical chemistry.