Creating a New Source of Energy From Photosynthesis?

February 19th, 2010

Unless you are living under a rock you know that one o the biggest discussion points over the last decade revolve around finding alternative fuel and energy sources. Recently, scientists in France have been able to generate a chemical energy by use of Photosynthesis. Their discovery created a biofuel cell that might lead to conversion of solar energy into electrical energy in an environmentally-friendly and renewable manner. There is also mention of using the technology for medical purposes.

Researchers at the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (CNRS) developed a biofuel cell that functions using the products of photosynthesis (glucose and O2) and is made up of two enzyme-modified electrodes.

The cell was then inserted in a living plant, in this case a cactus. Once the electrodes, highly sensitive to O2 and glucose, had been implanted in the cactus leaf, the scientists succeeded in monitoring the real-time course of photosynthesis in vivo. They were able to observe an increase in electrical current when a desk lamp was switched on, and a reduction when it was switched off. During these experiments, the scientists were also able to make the first ever observation of the real-time course of glucose levels during photosynthesis. This method could offer a new means of better understanding the mechanisms of photosynthesis.

The medical applications that they are planning to work on along side these findings are interesting as well. They plan to use the biofeul cell that could function autonomously under the skin (in vivo), drawing chemical energy from the oxygen-glucose couple that is naturally present in physiological fluids. It could thus provide power for implanted medical devices such as, for example, autonomous subcutaneous sensors to measure glucose levels in diabetic patients.
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