Application of Electrically Conducting Nanocomposite Material Polythiophene@NiO/Frt/GOx as Anode for Enzymatic Biofuel Cells

Glucose-based biofuel cells and their applications in medical implants: A review

In glucose biofuel cells (G-BFCs), glucose oxidation at the anode and oxygen reduction at the cathode yield electrons, which generate electric energy that can power a wide range of electronic devices. Research associated with the development of G-BFCs has increased in popularity among researchers because of the eco-friendly nature of G-BFCs (as related to their construction) and their evolution from inexpensive bio-based materials. In addition, their excellent specificity towards glucose as an energy source, and other properties, such as small size and weight, make them attractive within various demanding applied environments. For example, G-BFCs have received much attention as implanted devices, especially for uses related to cardiac activities. Envisioned pacemakers and defibrillators powered by G-BFCs would not be required to have conventional lithium batteries exchanged every 5-10 years. However, future research is needed to develop G-BFCs demonstrating more stable power consistency and improved lifespan, as well as solving the challenges in converting laboratory-made implantable G-BFCs into implanted devices in the human body. The categorization of G-BFCs as a subcategory of different biofuel cells and their performance is reviewed in this article.

Voltammetric analysis of pholcodine on graphene-modified GNPs/PTs with green assessment

Pholcodine, an anti-tussive medication widely used as an over-the-counter, OTC drug, has recently faced restrictions in several countries. This paper presents a sensitive electrochemical approach for pholcodine detection. The electrochemical method involved fabricating a graphene nanoplatelets electrode, incorporating polythiophene nanospheres polymer to promote electron transfer and increase the activated surface area. Characterization of the fabricated electrode was performed using transmission electron microscopy, ATR-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The electrochemical behavior of pholcodine with the fabricated electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, square wave voltammetry (SWV), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The developed electrode led to a linear response for pholcodine ranging from 10 to 45 mg/L with detection limits of 1.41 and 1.51 mg/mL for SWV and DPV, respectively and quantification limits of 4.27 and 4.57 mg/L for SWV and DPV, respectively. The proposed method has accurately recovered pholcodine in spiked serum samples with a recovery percentage ranging from 1.2 to 2.9%. The optimized method is found to be accurate, precise, and robust by applying validation parameters provided by International Council for Harmonization. Two green metrics were computed to assess the method's greenness, the findings showed that the developed method is environmentally friendly with minimum sample preparation steps.

Research Progress in Enzyme Biofuel Cells Modified Using Nanomaterials and Their Implementation as Self-Powered Sensors

Enzyme biofuel cells (EBFCs) can convert chemical or biochemical energy in fuel into electrical energy, and therefore have received widespread attention. EBFCs have advantages that traditional fuel cells cannot match, such as a wide range of fuel sources, environmental friendliness, and mild reaction conditions. At present, research on EBFCs mainly focuses on two aspects: one is the use of nanomaterials with excellent properties to construct high-performance EBFCs, and the other is self-powered sensors based on EBFCs. This article reviews the applied nanomaterials based on the working principle of EBFCs, analyzes the design ideas of self-powered sensors based on enzyme biofuel cells, and looks forward to their future research directions and application prospects. This article also points out the key properties of nanomaterials in EBFCs, such as electronic conductivity, biocompatibility, and catalytic activity. And the research on EBFCs is classified according to different research goals, such as improving battery efficiency, expanding the fuel range, and achieving self-powered sensors.

Study of the Electronic Interaction between NiO and Short Polythiophene Chains towards Solar Photon Harvesting

The sustainable production of energy is a field of interest to which a new requirement is now imposed: the need to be respectful of the environment. New materials and techniques are being developed, but environmental concerns impose the necessity of keeping research active towards the development of green energy. For this reason, we present the study of short polythiophene (PTh) chains (three and five monomers) and their interaction with nickel oxide, looking for properties related to solar photon harvesting in order to produce electricity. The models of the molecules were developed, and the calculations were performed with an M11-L meta-GGA functional, specially developed for electronic structure calculations. The theoretical explorations demonstrated that the geometry of the PTh molecules suffer little distortion when interacting with the NiO molecule. The calculated value of E_g lies between 2.500 and 0.412 eV for a three-ring PTh chain and between 1.944 and 0.556 eV for a five-ring PTh chain. The chemical parameters indicated that, depending on the geometry of the system, the chemical potential varies from 81.27 to 102.38 kcal/mol and the highest amount of electronic charge varies from -2.94 to 21.56 a.u. for three-monomer systems. For five-monomer systems, the values lie within similar ranges as those of the three-monomer systems. The Partial Density of States (PDOS) showed that the valence and conduction electronic bands were composed of states in the NiO and PTh rings, except for a system where there was a non-bonding interaction.

LncRNA MEG3 ameliorates NiO nanoparticles-induced pulmonary inflammatory damage via suppressing the p38 mitogen activated protein kinases pathway

The lung inflammatory damage could result from the nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs), in which the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This article explored the roles of long noncoding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (lncRNA MEG3) and p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) pathway in pulmonary inflammatory injury induced by NiO NPs. Wistar rats were treated with NiO NPs suspensions (0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg) by intratracheal instillation twice-weekly for 9 weeks. Meanwhile, A549 cells were treated with NiO NPs suspensions (25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) for 24 h. It can be concluded that the NiO NPs did trigger pulmonary inflammatory damage, which was confirmed by the histopathological examination, abnormal changes of inflammatory cells and inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β1, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, CXCL-1 and CXCL-2) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), pulmonary tissue and cell culture supernatant. Furthermore, NiO NPs activated the p38 MAPK pathway and downregulated MEG3 in vivo and in vitro. However, p38 MAPK pathway inhibitor (10 μM SB203580) reversed the alterations in the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines induced by NiO NPs. Meanwhile, over-expressed MEG3 significantly suppressed NiO NPs-induced p38 MAPK pathway activation and inflammatory cytokines changes. Overall, the above results proved that over-expression of lncRNA MEG3 reduced NiO NPs-induced inflammatory damage by preventing the activation of p38 MAPK pathway.

Mini-Review: Recent Technologies of Electrode and System in the Enzymatic Biofuel Cell (EBFC)

Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) is one of the branches of fuel cells that can provide high potential for various applications. However, EBFC has challenges in improving the performance power output. Exploring electrode materials is one way to increase enzyme utilization and lead to a high conversion rate so that efficient enzyme loading on the electrode surface can function correctly. This paper briefly presents recent technologies developed to improve bio-catalytic properties, biocompatibility, biodegradability, implantability, and mechanical flexibility in EBFCs. Among the combinations of materials that can be studied and are interesting because of their properties, there are various nanoparticles, carbon-based materials, and conductive polymers; all three have the advantages of chemical stability and enhanced electron transfer. The methods to immobilize enzymes, and support and substrate issues are also covered in this paper. In addition, the EBFC system is also explored and developed as suitable for applications such as self-pumping and microfluidic EBFC.