December 8, 2016 by Colin Poitras
Chemistry
Ph.D. student Islam Mosa holds an ultrathin implantable bioelectronic device he
developed that is powered by a novel supercapacitor capable of generating
enough power to sustain a cardiac pacemaker. It is more biocompatible and lasts
much longer than existing pacemaker batteries. Credit: Islam Mosa
A UConn graduate student is developing a new
micro-scale power source that is significantly smaller and more efficient than
the batteries currently used in most cardiac pacemakers today.
Working under the tutelage of chemistry professors
James Rusling and Challa Kumar, Ph.D. student Islam Mosa is developing an
implantable electronic device that draws its power from an ultra-small,
ultra-thin supercapacitor.
"Our supercapacitors are thinner than a human
hair," says Mosa, who is pursuing his doctorate in the Department of
Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "They are also very
stable. They could be designed to power a cardiac pacemaker for the life of the
patient."
Implantable cardiac pacemakers have extended the lives
of millions of people since they were first introduced in the late 1950s. But
current models are not without their drawbacks. They are powered by bulky
batteries that require surgery when their charge weakens, and they need to be
replaced. This poses a risk for infection. The batteries' internal electronic
components also can be toxic to the body should they ever leak.
About the size of a postage stamp, Mosa's power source is bendable
and looks like a thin piece of film. In lab tests, the device has also been
shown to be non-toxic to living cells. This feature is possible, Mosa says,
because the device uses the patient's own blood serum as an electrolyte rather
than draw its power from a potentially toxic lithium-ion battery, which is the
preferred power source for most cardiac pacemakers today.
"We charged and discharged the device in a petri
dish to see what happened to cell cultures, and surprisingly it had no effect
at all," Mosa says. "Because the supercapacitor components are
compatible with the biological environment, even if it leaks, it would have no
detrimental effect on the patient."
The power system's efficiency allows it to maintain a
charge for a long period of time, a feature that could make it suitable for
other bioelectronic devices such as implantable neurostimulators, which are
used to treat some patients with Parkinson's disease.
"The loss of capacity over time is very small,
which makes these supercapacitors very promising to power biomedical devices
over the long term," says Mosa, who has been working on the device for the
past three years.
Exactly how the power system works and how a patient's
biofluids serve as an electrolyte is still proprietary. Mosa and the research
team expect more details to be released soon once their research paper is accepted
for publication.
Professor Rusling is an expert in bioanalytical
chemistry, protein-based cancer diagnostic sensors, and toxicity screening
sensors. Professor Kumar is an expert in biological materials. Also
participating in the research were UConn chemistry professor Ashis Basu, an
expert in molecular biology; Professor Richard Kaner, a distinguished
biochemist and polymer expert from UCLA; and Maher El-Kady, a postdoc in the
Kaner lab.
While working on his doctoral dissertation, Mosa
recently received a top honor for succinctly conveying the core concepts of his
supercapacitor research in an international competition sponsored by
Universitas 21 (U21), a network of research universities around the globe.
Mosa won the People's Choice Award for a three-minute video presentation of
his doctoral thesis, capturing a record number of online votes. More
than 1,000 graduate students from universities as far away as Australia, New
Zealand, China, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK competed in the so-called
3MT event this year.
Mosa represented UConn in the U21 international
competition after placing first in a contest sponsored by the Department of
Chemistry and then winning a campus-wide event in September.
"Islam is a very accomplished young scientist and
a powerful communicator," says Kent Holsinger, UConn's dean of graduate
students and vice provost for graduate education."His work may improve the
lives of thousands who depend on cardiac
pacemakers. The 3MT competition helped him develop the skills to
describe complex, technical details of his work in language we can all
understand, and we are very proud to have him represent UConn in the 2016 U21
competition."
Mosa says his award-winning presentation wouldn't have
been possible without the support of Rusling, Kumar, and others on the research
team.
"180 seconds to tell the story of my thesis
research to a broad audience while making each word count was undoubtedly one
of the biggest challenges I have had in my graduate career," he says.
"I'm thrilled for all of the skills I have gained through this amazing
experience. I encourage all graduate students to participate. It's a great
learning opportunity."
Provided by:
University of
Connecticut
Video:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-device-heart-patients.html
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