Bio-electricity production from fibroblasts and their cultivation medium

The recent understanding of the critical future damage that might happen on earth by climate change has urged scientists to initiate new creative ideas for clean energy technologies that will reduce carbon emissions. A promising approach is the utilization of living cells as biocatalysts in bio-electrochemical cells (BECs). This concept has been intensively studied for micro-organisms but not for mammalian cells. In this work, we report for the first time integrating live fibroblast cells in a BEC to produce an electrical current that is about 3 times higher than intact micro-organisms measured in a similar system. Furthermore, we apply 2D-fluorescence and electrochemical measurements to show that like in microorganisms-based BECs, Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavins play a role in the electron mediation between the cells and the anode. Finally, we show that the major ingredient in the cultivation medium of fibroblasts, the fetal bovine serum (FBS), also consists of redox species that may produce dark and photocurrent, providing possibilities for future practical applications. By demonstrating that fibroblasts can be integrated into BECs, we reinforce the hypothesis that bioelectricity generation is a general capability not restricted to a specific cell type. This work paves the way towards the establishment of applicative energy solutions generated by cell cultures. Future mammalian fuel cells may also be used in bio-hybrid technologies enabling the operation of small medical devices empowered by cells in the human body.