They create the first edible battery; there are almonds and algae

Almonds, capers and seaweed They are some of the components of the first edible and rechargeable battery, an innovative concept developed by Italian engineer Mario Caironi that could represent a major breakthrough in medicine and the development of “edible electronics”.

The prototype, first described in an article in the scientific journal Advanced Materials, has European funding and has received a lot of global attention, to the extent that Time magazine named it one of the “inventions of the year.”

“Edible is different from what can be eaten there are devices made of common materials – like those from phones – wrapped in a capsule that insulates them and can be swallowed, but they also have to be thrown out and monitored,” explains Mario Caironi, a researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), to EFE.

This doctor of electronic engineering has been researching the electronic properties of food and its derivatives for years with the aim of developing medical sensors that can be ingested without side effects and that are processed by our body as food is digested.

“Our main hypothesis is that there is room for digestible products that provide information about our health status, such as tablets or temperature and pH sensors in the digestive system,” he claims.

Encapsulated in a beeswax tube
The battery designed by his team is made entirely of edible components: vitamin B2 or riboflavin – extracted from almonds – acts as the anode, and quercetin derived from capers acts as the cathode.

Activated carbon sold in pharmacies is used to increase conductivity, while its electrolyte is water-based, and the separator that prevents short circuits consists of nori algae like the ones sushi is wrapped in.

All this enclosed in a beeswax tube from which two edible gold contacts come out, the same one that pastry chefs use for decorations.

“It works like a normal battery – says Caironi. With two poles, positive and negative, which, if integrated into a circuit, convert chemical energy into electricity.”

According to the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), the promoter of the research, the battery operates at 0.65 V, a voltage low enough not to cause problems to the human body if swallowed, and is capable of delivering a current of 48 μA for 12 minutes.

Prototype capabilities it would be enough to power small electronic devices, such as low power LEDsit is added in the study financed with 2 million euros by the European Research Council.

Caironi explains that the battery is just one component of a whole network of edible electronic systems his team is trying to develop, which includes, for example, temperature sensors and communication devices from inside the body that could indicate when the pill has arrived. hose.

“These are fresh results straight from the laboratory, we are not talking about products,” he points out, announcing that they are already assembling the first edible assemblies to test them in liquids. simulated body parts.

Application in medicine
The first perspective is to apply this advance in medicine, although another possible use includes the development of quality control devices for food that does not leave “problematic traces”.

Furthermore, if progress is made, they could also be used in toys for younger children, where the risk of swallowing is high, notes the IIT. But those who fantasize about an edible phone will have to wait.

“We don’t even consider it, the need should be assessed“, replies Caironi, despite being aware that his research can contribute to a “more sustainable” way of manufacturing electronic products.