A microfluidic microbial fuel cell array that supports long-term multiplexed analyses of electricigens.
Summary of "A microfluidic microbial fuel cell array that supports long-term multiplexed analyses of electricigens."
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are green energy technologies that exploit microbial metabolism to generate electricity. The widespread implementation of MFC technologies has been stymied by their high cost and limited power. MFC arrays in which device configurations or microbial consortia can be screened have generated significant interest because of their potential for defining aspects that will improve performance featuring high throughput characteristics. However, current miniature MFCs and MFC array systems do not support long-term studies that mimic field conditions, and hence, have limitations in fully characterizing and understanding MFC performances in varieties of conditions. Here, we describe an MFC array device that incorporates microfluidic technology to enable continuous long-term analysis of MFC performance at high throughput utilizing periodic anolyte/catholyte replenishment. The system showed 360% higher power output and 700% longer operating time when compared to MFC arrays without catholyte replenishment. We further demonstrate the utility of the system by reporting its successful use in screening microbial consortia collected from geographically diverse environments for communities that support enhanced MFC performance. Taken together, this work demonstrates that anolyte/catholyte replenishment can significantly improve the long-term performance of microfabricated MFC arrays, and support the characterization of diverse microbial consortia.
Affiliation
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. arum.han@ece.tamu.edu.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Lab on a chip
ISSN: 1473-0189
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22868338
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c2lc40405b
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Colony Count, Microbial
Enumeration by direct count of viable, isolated bacterial, archaeal, or fungal CELLS or SPORES capable of growth on solid CULTURE MEDIA. Each colony (i.e., microbial colony-forming unit) represents the progeny of a single cell in the original inoculum. The method is used routinely by environmental microbiologists for quantifying organisms in AIR; FOOD; and WATER; by clinicians for measuring patients' microbial load; and in antimicrobial drug testing.
Uranium
Uranium. A radioactive element of the actinide series of metals. It has an atomic symbol U, atomic number 92, and atomic weight 238.03. U-235 is used as the fissionable fuel in nuclear weapons and as fuel in nuclear power reactors.
Karyotyping
Mapping of the full chromosome set of the nucleus of a cell. The chromosome characteristics of an individual or a cell line are usually presented as a systematized array of metaphase chromosomes from a photomicrograph of a single cell nucleus arranged in pairs in descending order of size and according to the position of the centromere. (From Stedman, 25th ed)
Tissue Array Analysis
The simultaneous analysis of multiple samples of TISSUES or CELLS from BIOPSY or in vitro culture that have been arranged in an array format on slides or microchips.
Superinfection
A frequent complication of drug therapy for microbial infection. It may result from opportunistic colonization following immunosuppression by the primary pathogen and can be influenced by the time interval between infections, microbial physiology, or host resistance. Experimental challenge and in vitro models are sometimes used in virulence and infectivity studies.
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