An investigation of the ability of white blood cells to generate electricity in biofuel cells

The issue of energy supply is a significant challenge that currently inhibits the development of numerous implantable medical and therapeutic devices. Biofuel cell (BFC) technology may present a solution in this regard. BFCs are capable of generating electricity through the coupling of glucose oxidation to the reduction of molecular oxygen to water. Both glucose and oxygen are abundantly present within the cells of most biological organisms. In this study, we investigate whether it is possible to use human white blood cells (WBC) as microscopic bioreactors for glucose metabolism in a BFC. The presence of an electron transport chain (the enzyme complex NADPH oxidase) bound to the plasma membrane of phagocytic WBCs might provide an explanation for the currents that we observed when such cells were incorporated into a BFC setup.