微型生物集成设备与机器人的电池

University of Oxford researchers have made a significant step towards realising miniature, soft batteries for use in a variety of biomedical applications, including the defibrillation and pacing of heart tissues. The work has been published today in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering.
牛津大学的研究人员在开发用于多种生物医学应用的微型软电池方面取得了重要进展，包括心脏组织的去纤颤和起搏。该研究成果今日发表于《自然-化学工程》期刊。

The development of tiny smart devices, smaller than a few cubic millimeters, demands equally small power sources. For minimally invasive biomedical devices that interact with biological tissues, these power sources must be fabricated from soft materials. Ideally, these should also have features such as high capacity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, triggerable activation, and the ability to be controlled remotely. To date, there has been no battery that can fulfil these requirements all at once.
开发体积小于几立方毫米的微型智能设备，需要同样小巧的电源。对于与生物组织交互的微创生物医学设备，这些电源必须由软材料制成。理想情况下，还应具备高容量、生物相容性与可生物降解性、可扳机触发激活以及远程控制能力等特性。迄今为止，尚无电池能同时满足所有这些要求。

To address these requirements, researchers fromthe University of Oxford's Department of Chemistry and Department of Pharmacology have developed a miniature, soft lithium-ion battery constructed from biocompatible hydrogel droplets. Surfactant-supported assembly (assembly aided by soap-like molecules), a technique reported by the same group last year in the journal Nature, is used to connect three microscale droplets of 10 nanolitres volume. Different lithium-ion particles contained in each of the two ends then generate the output energy.
为满足这些需求，牛津大学化学系与药理学系的研究人员开发出一种由生物相容性水凝胶液滴构成的微型柔性锂离子电池。该技术采用表面活性剂辅助组装（通过类肥皂分子实现组装）——该团队去年已在《Nature》期刊报道过此方法——将三个10纳升体积的微尺度液滴连接起来。两端液滴中分别含有的不同锂离子颗粒随后产生输出能量。

'Our droplet battery is light-activated, rechargeable, and biodegradable after use. To date, it is the smallest hydrogel lithium-ion battery and has a superior energy density' said Dr Yujia Zhang (Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford), the lead researcher for the study and a starting Assistant Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. 'We used the droplet battery to power the movement of charged molecules between synthetic cells and to control the beating and defibrillation of mouse hearts. By including magnetic particles to control movement, the battery can also function as a mobile energy carrier.'
“我们的掉落电池可光激活、可充电，使用后还可生物降解。迄今为止，这是最小的水凝胶锂离子电池，且具有卓越的能量密度，”该研究的首席研究员、洛桑联邦理工学院新任助理教授张玉佳博士（牛津大学化学系）表示，“我们利用掉落电池为合成细胞间带电分子的运动提供动力，并控制小鼠心脏的搏动和去纤颤。”通过加入磁性颗粒来控制移动，该电池还可以充当移动能源载体。

Proof-of-concept heart treatments were carried out in the laboratory of Professor Ming Lei (Department of Pharmacology), a senior electrophysiologist in cardiac arrhythmias. He said: 'Cardiac arrhythmia is a leading cause of death worldwide. Our proof-of-concept application in animal models demonstrates an exciting new avenue of wireless and biodegradable devices for the management of arrhythmias.'
概念验证心脏治疗在心律失常领域资深电生理学家、Ming Lei教授（药理学系）的实验室进行。他表示：“心律失常是全球主要死亡原因之一。我们在动物模型中的概念验证应用展示了一种令人兴奋的新型无线可降解设备治疗心律失常的途径。”

Professor Hagan Bayley (Department of Chemistry), the research group leader for the study, said: 'The tiny soft lithium-ion battery is the most sophisticated in a series of microscale power packs developed by Dr Zhang and points to a fantastic future for biocompatible electronic devices that can operate under physiological conditions.'
研究小组负责人、化学系的Hagan Bayley教授表示：“这种微型软体锂离子电池是张博士开发的一系列微型电源组中最复杂的一种，预示着可在生理条件下运行的生物相容性电子设备将拥有fantastic未来。”

The researchers have filed a patent application through Oxford University Innovation. They envisage that the tiny versatile battery, particularly relevant to small-scale robots for bioapplications, will open up new possibilities in various areas including clinical medicine.
研究人员已通过牛津大学科技创新部门提交了专利申请。他们设想这种微型多功能电池——尤其适用于生物应用领域的小型机器人——将在临床医学等多个领域开辟新的可能性。