Spotlight May 2023: Dual energy – edible batteries

Home > Spotlight May 2023: Dual energy – edible batteries

An Italian research group reports on edible batteries that supply electric current and can be digested as food, thus providing energy a second time. What sounds funny at first has a serious background, because in medicine, power sources are needed that could be transported through the digestive tract and possibly remain in the body unintentionally, e.g., for swallowable mini-cameras that could be used in gastroscopies and colonoscopies. If the battery materials are then digestible, there will be no problematic effects from the battery if it does not pass through the body quickly enough.

The battery presented is composed of dietary and nutritional supplements, and since all components are either digestible or pass through the body unchanged, they could actually be eaten. The authors did test the battery’s functionality, so it does provide electricity, but they did not eat their battery because the battery case was too large and not constructed of digestible materials, so more research is needed here.

 

Original publication:

Ilic, I. K., Galli, V., Lamanna, L., Cataldi, P., Pasquale, L., Annese, V. F., Athanassiou, A., Caironi, M., An Edible Rechargeable Battery. Adv. Mater. 2023, 2211400.

Spotlight May 2023: Dual energy – edible batteries

Weitere Spotlights


Spotlight November 2023: Early Awareness and Action System for Advanced Materials (Early4AdMa)

Spotlight November 2023: Early Awareness and Action System for Advanced Materials (Early4AdMa)

Advanced materials hold immense potential to address global challenges such as environmental degradation, transformation of the energy sector, and development towards circularity. To harness their benefits while ensuring safety and sustainability, regulatory bodies, scientific communities, and industries have recognized the need for proactive approaches. The “Early4AdMa” system is a pre-regulatory risk governance tool for advanced […]

Read more

Spotlight June 2021: Endotoxin – the reason for false-positive toxicity testing for advanced materials? 

Spotlight June 2021: Endotoxin – the reason for false-positive toxicity testing for advanced materials? 

Advanced materials, but also nanomaterials are closely examined to determine whether they trigger biological effects that could be harmful to humans and the environment before they are used in products. This also includes such materials as titanium dioxide, which has been used in a wide variety of products for more than 50 years. A particularly […]

Read more

Spotlight June 2022: From small to clever – What does the future hold for the safety and sustainability of advanced materials?

Spotlight June 2022: From small to clever – What does the future hold for the safety and sustainability of advanced materials?

The smallest particles in materials research, nanoparticles, have occupied us intensively for more than 20 years to elucidate and further investigate their safety for humans and the environment. Now, however, the development is going from “small = nano” to “clever = advanced”, as discussed in a contribution by international scientists. Thereby, it is a great […]

Read more

Spotlight April 2023: Recycling rare earths – bacteria assist in the circular economy

Spotlight April 2023: Recycling rare earths – bacteria assist in the circular economy

Rare earths are important components of wind turbines, catalytic converters, fibre optic cables and plasma screens. Since the 17 metals grouped under this term are indispensable for modern technologies, demand and costs are constantly rising. The occurrence of productive mining sites is limited and the production is often costly and environmentally harmful. The advantages of […]

Read more

Skip to content