Microbial Biofuel Cells: Fundamental Principles, Development and Recent Obstacles
Kasparas Kižys,
Antanas Zinovičius,
Baltramiejus Jakštys,
Ingrida Bružaitė,
Evaldas Balčiūnas,
Milda Petrulevičienė,
Arūnas Ramanavičius,
Inga Morkvėnaitė-Vilkončienė
Affiliations
Kasparas Kižys
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Antanas Zinovičius
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Baltramiejus Jakštys
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
Ingrida Bružaitė
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Evaldas Balčiūnas
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Milda Petrulevičienė
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Arūnas Ramanavičius
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
Inga Morkvėnaitė-Vilkončienė
Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Conversion, State Research Institute Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
This review focuses on the development of microbial biofuel cells to demonstrate how similar principles apply to the development of bioelectronic devices. The low specificity of microorganism-based amperometric biosensors can be exploited in designing microbial biofuel cells, enabling them to consume a broader range of chemical fuels. Charge transfer efficiency is among the most challenging and critical issues while developing biofuel cells. Nanomaterials and particular redox mediators are exploited to facilitate charge transfer between biomaterials and biofuel cell electrodes. The application of conductive polymers (CPs) can improve the efficiency of biofuel cells while CPs are well-suitable for the immobilization of enzymes, and in some specific circumstances, CPs can facilitate charge transfer. Moreover, biocompatibility is an important issue during the development of implantable biofuel cells. Therefore, biocompatibility-related aspects of conducting polymers with microorganisms are discussed in this review. Ways to modify cell-wall/membrane and to improve charge transfer efficiency and suitability for biofuel cell design are outlined.