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Journal of the American Chemical �й�365bet���Ĺ���

The world’s first “electrified snail�� has joined the menagerie of cockroaches, rats, rabbits and other animals previously implanted with biofuel cells that generate electricity �� perhaps for future spy cameras, eavesdropping microphones and other electronics �� from natural sugar in their bodies. Scientists are describing how their new biofuel cell worked for months in a free-living snail in the Journal of the American Chemical �й�365bet���Ĺ���.

In the report, Evgeny Katz and colleagues point out that many previous studies have involved “potentially implantable�� biofuel cells. So far, however, none has produced an implanted biofuel cell in a small live animal that could generate electricity for an extended period of time without harming the animal. “The snail with the implanted biofuel cell will be able to operate in a natural environment, producing sustainable electrical micropower for activating various bioelectronic devices,�� the authors say.

To turn a living snail into a power source, the researchers made two small holes in its shell and inserted high-tech electrodes made from compressed carbon nanotubes. They coated the highly conductive material with enzymes, which foster chemical reactions in animals�� bodies. Using a different enzyme on each electrode, one pulling electrons from glucose and another using those electrons to turn oxygen molecules into water, they induced an electric current. Importantly, the long-lasting enzymes could generate electricity again and again after the scientists fed and rested what they termed the “electrified�� snail, which lived freely for several months with the implanted fuel cell.