Origami techniques used to build paper-based bacteria powered battery

The microwatt-level battery is said to generate power from microbial respiration, delivering enough energy to run a paper-based biosensor with a drop of liquid containing bacteria.

“Dirty water has a lot of organic matter,” said Seokheun “Sean” Choi, whose work is published in Nano Energy. “Any type of organic material can be the source of bacteria for the bacterial metabolism.”

The method could be useful to anyone working in remote areas with limited resources. Because paper is inexpensive and readily available, experts working on disease control and prevention have already seized upon it as a key material in creating diagnostic tools for the developing world.

“Paper is cheap and it’s biodegradable,” Choi said in a statement. “And we don’t need external pumps or syringes because paper can suck up a solution using capillary force.”

While paper-based biosensors have shown promise in this area, the existing technology must be paired with hand-held devices for analysis.