Inverted battery design as ion generator for interfacing with biosystems

Chengwei Wang,Lisha Xu,Jiaqi Dai,Kun Fu,Steven D Lacey,Glenn Pastel,Liangbing Hu,Yonggang Yao,Jianhua Zhang

doi:10.1038/ncomms15609

Abstract

In a lithium-ion battery, electrons are released from the anode and go through an external electronic circuit to power devices, while ions simultaneously transfer through internal ionic media to meet with electrons at the cathode. Inspired by the fundamental electrochemistry of the lithium-ion battery, we envision a cell that can generate a current of ions instead of electrons, so that ions can be used for potential applications in biosystems. Based on this concept, we report an ‘electron battery’ configuration in which ions travel through an external circuit to interact with the intended biosystem whereas electrons are transported internally. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the application of the electron battery by stimulating a monolayer of cultured cells, which fluoresces a calcium ion wave at a controlled ionic current. Electron batteries with the capability to generate a tunable ionic current could pave the way towards precise ion-system control in a broad range of biological applications.

Highlights

In a lithium-ion battery, electrons are released from the anode and go through an external electronic circuit to power devices, while ions simultaneously transfer through internal ionic media to meet with electrons at the cathode
Ions act as charge carriers and are involved in each step. Their energy is supplied by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules, which exist as complex ions as well[1]
The aforementioned methods enabled an electronic system to interact with an ionic system, as far as we know, there has not yet been an effective ionic device that can directly communicate with ionic systems

Summary

Introduction

In a lithium-ion battery, electrons are released from the anode and go through an external electronic circuit to power devices, while ions simultaneously transfer through internal ionic media to meet with electrons at the cathode. Inspired by the fundamental electrochemistry of the lithium-ion battery, we envision a cell that can generate a current of ions instead of electrons, so that ions can be used for potential applications in biosystems Based on this concept, we report an ‘electron battery’ configuration in which ions travel through an external circuit to interact with the intended biosystem whereas electrons are transported internally. Other methods use an electrochemical reference electrode as a bridge to initiate interactions between ionic and electronic systems Based on this design, the patch clamp technique was developed to study ionic channels in cells by Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991 for their work[4,5,6]. With these unique ionic properties, the proposed electron battery can be a strategy to solve biological challenges

Methods

Results

Conclusion