Simple Yeast-Direct Catalytic Fuel Cell Bio-Device: Analytical Results and Energetic Properties

Abstract

This paper reports the analytical detection and energetic properties of a glucose-fed Direct Catalytic Fuel Cell (DCFC) operated in association with yeast cells (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae). The cell was tested in a potentiostatic mode, and the operating conditions were optimized to maximize the current produced by a given concentration of glucose. Results indicate that the DCFC is characterized by a glucose detection limit of the order to 21 mmol L−1. The cell was used to estimate the “pool” of carbohydrate content in commercial soft drinks. Furthermore, the use of different carbohydrates, such as fructose and sucrose, has been shown to result in a good current yield.

Improvement of Qualitative Analyses of Aliphatic Alcohols Using Direct Catalytic Fuel Cell and Chemometric Analysis Format

“…Finally, there is, naturally, the possibility of carrying out a quantitative analysis of each of the alcohols highlighted too, by constructing the usual respective calibration curves for each alcohol as a function of time, increasing by the time each alcohol's concentration in the hydroalcoholic solutions (see Table 3), and then using the fuel cell response, i.e., the final point values of the discharge curves, as was possible in previous research [5][6][7][8].…”

“…Besides beverages, the quantitative detection of ethanol has also been demonstrated in pharmaceutical products [7] and biological fluids, opening up the possibility of forensic applications [7]. Interestingly, molecules characterized by alcohol groups can also be detected by fuel cells; this feature has been tested on antibiotics such as chloramphenicol and imipenem, and on carbohydrates [7,8].…”

A Direct Catalytic Ethanol Fuel Cell (DCEFC) Modified by LDHs, or by Catalase-LDHs, and Improvement in Its Kinetic Performance: Applications for Human Saliva and Disinfectant Products for COVID-19

“…A series of applications, in previous research, was carried out by employing a non-modified fuel cell on real matrices, consisting of alcoholic beverages, such as different types of wines, beers, and spirits, or drugs (hydroalcoholic extracts, etc. ), containing significant percentages of ethanol [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. In the present work, the development of modified fuel cells, especially enzymatic, based on catalase immobilization on LDHs through adsorption and crosslinking mechanisms, ensured not only a considerable operational duration greater than at least one month but also a considerable increase in the calibration sensitivity by almost 8-times compared to the simple unmodified fuel cell, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.…”

“…In recent years, a certain number of studies, based on LDHs of the type (Zn II ,Al III (OH) 2 ) + NO 3 − ·H 2 O, were conducted by our research group, obtaining good results, especially from an analytical point of view [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Furthermore, encouraging results have been obtained, both analytical, e.g., on alcoholic drinks, beverages [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], drugs, or pharmaceutical formulations [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], and also for energy purposes with the use of glucose and carbohydrates [ 15 , 22 ] by means of a simple and inexpensive DCEFC. We, therefore, came up with the idea of trying to accelerate the catalytic reaction of our fuel cell by inserting our previously used LDHs, housed inside a small dialysis tube, into the anodic section of the fuel cell (already containing metals, such as Pt and Ru) [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]), as already carried out by our team but using an enzyme instead of LDHs [ 14 ].…”

“…We, therefore, came up with the idea of trying to accelerate the catalytic reaction of our fuel cell by inserting our previously used LDHs, housed inside a small dialysis tube, into the anodic section of the fuel cell (already containing metals, such as Pt and Ru) [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]), as already carried out by our team but using an enzyme instead of LDHs [ 14 ]. In other words, the basic idea is to realize an extremely simple and inexpensive device, starting from the same fuel cell already used in previous works, without essential modifications [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. However, in this case, we operated in open-circuit mode, rather than in a potentiostatic way, since this mode has two undoubted advantages: firstly, it proved to be very reproducible and, secondly, the method does not necessarily require one to determine the Optimized Applied Potential (OAP) [ 13 , 23 , 24 ].…”