For the first time, scientists have developed a microchip that can be powered by a fuel source that provides energy for cell survival. And this breakthrough progress will enable us to implant the chip directly into the patient's body one day in the future, without having to worry about battery consumption (battery brothers are afraid of it).

Speaking of the principle of cell supply, we have to open high school biology textbooks and look for chapters on ATP. If you remember correctly, our cells store a certain amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which releases energy when converted to ADP, providing the necessary needs for cellular activities. This new type of microchip is able to take advantage of this enzyme function called nano-potassium ATPase. When they come into contact with ATP, they will release energy by initial ATP decomposition. The enzymes in the chip can cause potassium and sodium ions (with positive charges) to pass through a special membrane, generate potential energy, form a current, and power the chip.

"This ion pump is like an electronic device in a living system," said Ken Shepard, an electrical engineer from Columbia University. He and his colleagues published the latest research on "Nature Communications" on December 7.

The researchers first extracted the nano-potassium ATPase from the pig brain and then embedded them on the artificial fat film. The final chip is capable of obtaining 2 million molecules of energy in an area of ​​one square millimeter. This (cell) density is only 5% of that of ordinary mammalian nerve fibers.

By acquiring the energy of ATP decomposition, the ion pump is capable of generating 78 millivolts of voltage, and two biochips of this size can provide enough voltage for the CMOS integrated circuit. The conversion rate of this electrochemical energy converted ion pump was 14.9%.

With an ion pump, we are able to build an electric field that can drive the system. While ATP is only present in cells, not in the blood, this new system cannot be implanted in the body like a conventional medical device.

However, this system can be implanted inside the cell. There are many nanoscale materials available for the manufacture of implantable devices, but they are all passively driven. We want the chip to be able to get energy from the biomaterials, do some calculations and decisions, and then perform some special functions.

Future research may produce electronic products with membrane proteins, such as sensors that can form olfactory or gustatory functions. Our functional modules can be combined with different functional modules to perform some cell-level biological applications.

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