| The relevance of this research is based on the need to develop biofuel cells as an alternative technology for powering implantable and/or extracorporeal medical devices. To accomplish this, processes occurring in nature are mimicked on the surface of bioelectrodes by enzymatic systems. In this research, various 'hot' topics, at different stages of the development of the technology, are revised in order to: accomplish understanding of the principles governing the normal operation of a glucose/O2 fuel cell, overcome obstacles to advance over the current technological limitations, and propose designs at the nanostructural catalytic layer scale as well as assembly platforms for practical cell operation. This research opens the possibilities to optimize electrode designs based on carbon composite nanomaterials, reagentless enzymatic systems and state-of-the-art enzymatic-stabilization procedures. The design and use of composite nanoarchitectural structures to achieve increased current density generation, cofactor and enzyme stability is a major accomplishment of this research. The technology herein can serve as a departing foundation to engineer electrode designs that meet the criteria required for reagentless biofuel cells for implantable and extracorporeal applications. |
