The
World Energy Consumption rate is increasing at an alarming rate leading
to an unbalanced energy management. We depend mainly on the
non-renewable resources, for our power, which are soon getting
depleted. While there is no sign that this growth in demand will abate
particularly amongst the developing nations, there is now an awareness
of the transience of non-renewable resources and the irreversible
damage caused to the environment. The fast growing technology demands
from us, small, light power sources that are able to sustain operation
over a long period of time.
Extending the life span of batteries and
thus miniaturization of equipments will benefit more in the
bio-engineering field. The problem of supplying energy to the implanted
medical devices is extremely challenging even though continuous efforts
of research and studies have led to the miniaturization of batteries
used. There also exist the problem of need of a surgical intervention
after a fixed a period of time once these devices are planted. The
advances in medical sciences are leading to an increasing number of
implantable electrically operated devices.
These are areas where
biofuel cells turn to a blessing. The original concept of biofuel cell
was derived from the normal working of human body. Biological cells use
enzymes to break down glucose in order to form adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), which acts as a potential energy store for a wide variety of
metabolic and cellular processes. Biofuel cells try to imitate this
ability of cells to generate energy from glucose.
