Scientists working with nanotechnology have created a biological material that can produce clean electricity by using the movements around it to charge up. Two years ago, a paper about this material – a molecule named Hyp-Phe-Phe – was published by an international team of researchers led by Tel Aviv University scientists. The molecule is similar to collagen, a protein that is strong and flexible and has many uses, but it is much simpler and shorter. In a study that appeared in Nature Communications, the researchers revealed that the new material has another property in common with collagen – piezoelectricity. “Piezoelectricity is the capacity of a material to generate electric currents and voltage when a mechanical force is applied to it, or conversely, to produce a mechanical force when exposed to an electric field,” said TAU’s Prof. Ehud Gazit. “Most of the piezoelectric materials that we are familiar with today are either toxic materials based on lead, or polymers, which means they are not friendly to the environment or the human body. Our new material, on the other hand, is entirely biological, and therefore suitable for uses inside the body.” For instance, a device made from Hyp-Phe-Phe could replace a battery in implants like pacemakers. Heartbeats, jaw movements, bowel movements.
Date: August 3, 2021
Source: https://www.isracast.com/new-green-nanotech-molecule-can-power-pacemakers-in-the-body/
