Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Energy-harvesting bioreactors: toward self-powered microfluidic devices, a mini-review

  • Review
  • Published:
Microfluidics and Nanofluidics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The past decades have witnessed tremendous progress in microfluidics in terms of functionalities and applications. To realize various functions such as actuation and sensing, a source of energy is often needed. Batteries, as a common energy source for portable devices, are not always preferred in situations such as remote sensing and in vivo applications. Nature has provided us with microorganisms and biomolecules capable of converting biomass into useful form of energy via complex chemical pathways. It would be extremely useful if microdevices can be self-powered by consuming “foods” around them. Recently, various types of microfluidic bioreactors have been developed to harness energy by intending to replicate natural processes. Most of them were used to generate electricity in a biofuel cell configuration. Others were used to produce mechanical actuation based on processes such as fermentation. Here, we summarize recent progresses made in this area. Specifically, we compare various applications and their performance metrics. We also discuss critical problems in this technology and highlight future opportunities for self-powered microfluidics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Aguilar D, Barus C, Giraud W, Calas E, Vanhove E, Laborde A, Launay J, Temple-Boyer P, Striebig N, Armengaud M (2015) Silicon-based electrochemical microdevices for silicate detection in seawater. Sens Actuators B Chem 211:116–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Amir L, Tam TK, Pita M, Meijler MM, Alfonta L, Katz E (2009) Biofuel cell controlled by enzyme logic systems. J Am Chem Soc 131(2):826–832

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkam S, Saraf S, Seal S (2013) Fabricated micro-nano devices for in vivo and in vitro biomedical applications. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 5(6):544–568

    Google Scholar 

  • Beneyton T, Wijaya IPM, Salem CB, Griffiths A, Taly V (2013) Membraneless glucose/O 2 microfluidic biofuel cells using covalently bound enzymes. Chem Commun 49(11):1094–1096

    Google Scholar 

  • Betts JI, Baganz F (2006) Miniature bioreactors: current practices and future opportunities. Microb Cell Fact 5(1):21

    Google Scholar 

  • Blesken C, Olfers T, Grimm A, Frische N (2016) The microfluidic bioreactor for a new era of bioprocess development. Eng Life Sci 16(2):190–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunelli M, Perrault C, Lacroix D (2014) Microfluidic bioreactor for high-throughput and prolonged perfusion of bone scaffolds. J Tissue Eng Regen Med 8:480–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvo-Lopez A, Ymbern O, Izquierdo D, Alonso-Chamarro J (2016) Low cost and compact analytical microsystem for carbon dioxide determination in production processes of wine and beer. Anal Chim Acta 931:64–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Carmo JP, Goncalves LM, Correia JH (2010) Thermoelectric microconverter for energy harvesting systems. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 57(3):861–867

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y-P, Zhao Y, Qiu K-Q, Chu J, Lu R, Sun M, Liu X-W, Sheng G-P, Yu H-Q, Chen J (2011) An innovative miniature microbial fuel cell fabricated using photolithography. Biosens Bioelectron 26(6):2841–2846

    Google Scholar 

  • Chisti Y (2008) Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. Trends Biotechnol 26(3):126–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi S, Chae J (2013) Optimal biofilm formation and power generation in a micro-sized microbial fuel cell (MFC). Sens Actuators A 195:206–212

    Google Scholar 

  • De Riccardis G, Alexander PG, Raimondi MT, Tuan RS, Gottardi R (2017) A 3D printed microfluidic bioreactor to engineering biphasic construct. Tissue Eng Part A 23:S6–S7

    Google Scholar 

  • du Toit H, Rashidi R, Ferdani DW, Delgado-Charro MB, Sangan CM, Di Lorenzo M (2016) Generating power from transdermal extracts using a multi-electrode miniature enzymatic fuel cell. Biosens Bioelectron 78:411–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferry JG (1992) Methane from acetate. J Bacteriol 174(17):5489–5495

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer C, Fraiwan A, Choi S (2016) A 3D paper-based enzymatic fuel cell for self-powered, low-cost glucose monitoring. Biosens Bioelectron 79:193–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh A, Corves B (2015) Introduction to micromechanisms and microactuators. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • González-Guerrero MJ, Esquivel JP, Sánchez-Molas D, Godignon P, Muñoz FX, del Campo FJ, Giroud F, Minteer SD, Sabaté N (2013) Membraneless glucose/O 2 microfluidic enzymatic biofuel cell using pyrolyzed photoresist film electrodes. Lab Chip 13(15):2972–2979

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashmi A, Heiman G, Yu G, Lewis M, Kwon H-J, Xu J (2013) Oscillating bubbles in teardrop cavities for microflow control. Microfluid Nanofluid 14(3–4):591–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilber W, Jakoby B (2016) Ethanol fermentation bioreactor for microfluidic actuation. Sens Actuators a Phys 240:145–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang PH, Nama N, Mao ZM, Li P, Rufo J, Chen YC, Xie YL, Wei CH, Wang L, Huang TJ (2014) A reliable and programmable acoustofluidic pump powered by oscillating sharp-edge structures. Lab Chip 14(22):4319–4323

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesgen T, Ruhhammer J, Biancuzzi G, Woias P (2010) Detailed study of a micro heat engine for thermal energy harvesting. J Micromech Microeng 20(10):104004

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacques P, Béchet M, Bigan M, Caly D, Chataigné G, Coutte F, Flahaut C, Heuson E, Leclère V, Lecouturier D, Phalip V, Ravallec R, Dhulster P, Froidevaux R (2017) High-throughput strategies for the discovery and engineering of enzymes for biocatalysis. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 40(2):161–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Jimbo H, Miki N (2008) Gastric-fluid-utilizing micro battery for micro medical devices. Sens Actuators B Chem 134(1):219–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Kjeang E, Djilali N, Sinton D (2009) Microfluidic fuel cells: a review. J Power Sour 186(2):353–369

    Google Scholar 

  • Lam MK, Lee KT (2012) Microalgae biofuels: a critical review of issues, problems and the way forward. Biotechnol Adv 30(3):673–690

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee DW, Choi N, Sung JH (2019) A microfluidic chip with gravity-induced unidirectional flow for perfusion cell culture. Biotechnol Prog 35(1):e2701

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin Y, Gao C, Gao Y, Wu M, Ahmadian Yazdi A, Xu J (2019) Acoustofluidic micromixer on lab-on-a-foil devices. Sens Actuators B Chem 287:312–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin Y, Xu J (2017) Paper-fluidic based sensing in food safety and quality analysis. In: Sensing techniques for food safety and quality control. Royal Society of Chemistry, pp 95–120

  • Logan BE, Hamelers B, Rozendal R, Schröder U, Keller J, Freguia S, Aelterman P, Verstraete W, Rabaey K (2006) Microbial fuel cells: methodology and technology. Environ Sci Technol 40(17):5181–5192

    Google Scholar 

  • Marle L, Greenway GM (2005) Microfluidic devices for environmental monitoring. TrAC, Trends Anal Chem 24(9):795–802

    Google Scholar 

  • Mata TM, Martins AA, Caetano NS (2010) Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: a review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 14(1):217–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Micheletti M, Lye GJ (2006) Microscale bioprocess optimisation. Curr Opin Biotechnol 17(6):611–618

    Google Scholar 

  • Miyake T, Oike M, Yoshino S, Yatagawa Y, Haneda K, Nishizawa M (2010) Automatic, sequential power generation for prolonging the net lifetime of a miniature biofuel cell stack. Lab Chip 10(19):2574–2578

    Google Scholar 

  • Ollinger M, Kim H, Sutto T, Piqué A (2006) Laser printing of nanocomposite solid-state electrolyte membranes for Li micro-batteries. Appl Surf Sci 252(23):8212–8216

    Google Scholar 

  • Oudenhoven JF, Baggetto L, Notten PH (2011) All-solid-state lithium-ion microbatteries: a review of various three-dimensional concepts. Adv Energy Mater 1(1):10–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozbey A, Karimzadehkhouei M, Yalcin SE, Gozuacik D, Kosar A (2015) Modeling of ferrofluid magnetic actuation with dynamic magnetic fields in small channels. Microfluid Nanofluid 18(3):447–460

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeiffer SA, Nagl S (2015) Microfluidic platforms employing integrated fluorescent or luminescent chemical sensors: a review of methods, scope and applications. Methods Appl Fluoresc 3(3):034003

    Google Scholar 

  • Qian F, He Z, Thelen MP, Li Y (2011) A microfluidic microbial fuel cell fabricated by soft lithography. Biores Technol 102(10):5836–5840

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid N, Rehman MSU, Sadiq M, Mahmood T, Han J-I (2014) Current status, issues and developments in microalgae derived biodiesel production. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 40:760–778

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen M, Abdellaoui S, Minteer SD (2016) Enzymatic biofuel cells: 30 years of critical advancements. Biosens Bioelectron 76:91–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Reis N, Gonçalves CN, Aguedo M, Gomes N, Teixeira JA, Vicente AA (2006) Application of a novel oscillatory flow micro-bioreactor to the production of γ-decalactone in a two immiscible liquid phase medium. Biotech Lett 28(7):485–490

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaud L, Selloum D, Tingry S (2015) Xurography for 2D and multi-level glucose/O 2 microfluidic biofuel cell. Microfluid Nanofluid 18(5–6):1407–1416

    Google Scholar 

  • Saadon S, Sidek O (2011) A review of vibration-based MEMS piezoelectric energy harvesters. Energy Convers Manage 52(1):500–504

    Google Scholar 

  • Safavieh R, Tamayol A, Juncker D (2015) Serpentine and leading-edge capillary pumps for microfluidic capillary systems. Microfluid Nanofluid 18(3):357–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Sainz J, Pizarro F, Pérez-Correa JR, Agosin E (2003) Modeling of yeast metabolism and process dynamics in batch fermentation. Biotechnol Bioeng 81(7):818–828

    Google Scholar 

  • Saliterman SS (2006) Fundamentals of BioMEMS and medical microdevices. Wiley-Interscience, Bellingham

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun X, Wan JJ, Qian K (2017) Designed microdevices for in vitro diagnostics. Small Methods 1(10):1700196

    Google Scholar 

  • Titmarsh DM, Chen H, Glass NR, Cooper-White JJ (2014) Concise review: Microfluidic technology platforms: poised to accelerate development and translation of stem cell-derived therapies. Stem Cells Transl Med 3(1):81–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Togo M, Takamura A, Asai T, Kaji H, Nishizawa M (2007) An enzyme-based microfluidic biofuel cell using vitamin K3-mediated glucose oxidation. Electrochim Acta 52(14):4669–4674

    Google Scholar 

  • Tortora GJ, Funke BR, Case CL (2010) Microbiology: an introduction. Pearson

  • Weuster-Botz D (2005) Parallel reactor systems for bioprocess development. In: Kragl U (ed) Technology transfer in biotechnology: from lab to industry to production. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 125–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie SX, Wang XD, Jiao ND, Tung S, Liu LQ (2017) Programmable micrometer-sized motor array based on live cells. Lab Chip 17(12):2046–2053

    Google Scholar 

  • Yazdi AA, Popma A, Wong W, Nguyen T, Pan Y, Xu J (2016) 3D printing: an emerging tool for novel microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip applications. Microfluid Nanofluid 20(3):50

    Google Scholar 

  • Yazdi AA, Preite R, Milton RD, Hickey DP, Minteer SD, Xu J (2017) Rechargeable membraneless glucose biobattery: towards solid-state cathodes for implantable enzymatic devices. J Power Sour 343:103–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan Y, Chen Q, Zhou S, Zhuang L, Hu P (2011) Bioelectricity generation and microcystins removal in a blue-green algae powered microbial fuel cell. J Hazard Mater 187(1–3):591–595

    Google Scholar 

  • Zebda A, Renaud L, Cretin M, Innocent C, Ferrigno R, Tingry S (2010) Membrane less microchannel glucose biofuel cell with improved electrical performances. Sens Actuators B Chem 149(1):44–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Li W, Han N, Kan J (2008) Forest fire detection system based on a ZigBee wireless sensor network. Front For China 3(3):369–374

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Ozdemir P (2009) Microfluidic DNA amplification—a review. Anal Chim Acta 638(2):115–125

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Not applicable.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Mengren Wu, Alireza Ahmadian Yazdi & Jie Xu

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Daniel Attinger

Authors
  1. Mengren Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alireza Ahmadian Yazdi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel Attinger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jie Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Dr. Xu and Dr. Attinger came up with the research idea. Dr. Xu supervised the study. Mengren performed the literature search. Mengren and Alireza drafted and revised this manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jie Xu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wu, M., Ahmadian Yazdi, A., Attinger, D. et al. Energy-harvesting bioreactors: toward self-powered microfluidic devices, a mini-review. Microfluid Nanofluid 24, 51 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02355-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02355-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation