Novel Biological Sources for Implantable Battery Materials

Where will the next source of electrode materials for batteries to power edible medical devices come from? Would you believe, from marine cuttlefish? Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, say that melanin pigments in cuttlefish ink provides the perfect chemistry and nanostructure to power tiny electronic devices that can be either ingested or implanted into the body for applications ranging from biosensing to drug delivery.