A biocompatible iron doped graphene based cathode for an implantable glucose biofuel cell

Abstract

In this study we propose the use of an iron/nitrogen co-doped reduced graphene oxide (Fe/N-rGO) based electrode as a cathode for a future glucose biofuel cell application. We used a mechanical compression process to fabricate cathodes in the form of pellets. We studied electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction of the cathode under physiological solution conditions. Our results demonstrated the capacity of these cathodes to operate under these conditions with long-term stability exceeding two years with only 8% loss of activity. Cytotoxicity tests performed under standard in vitro cell-culture conditions showed that cathodes did not exhibit any toxic effect and thereby are promising for in vivo applications.