Urine Power

Urine-powered micro battery invented by Singapore institute

Agence France-Presse

SINGAPORE -- A Singapore scientific institute on Tuesday said it has invented a urine-powered micro battery that can be used in disposable test kits for diabetes and other diseases.

The state-funded Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology said a drop of urine placed on the paper battery will generate enough electricity to power a "biochip device" that can analyze the urine sample for disease "biomarkers."

"We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit card-sized biochips for disease," the institute's principal research scientist Dr. Lee Ki Bang said in a press statement.

"Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity upon contact with biofluids such as urine," Lee added.

Urine is widely used to test for signs of various diseases and as an indicator of a persons general state of health, the institute said. The concentration of glucose in urine is a useful diagnostic tool for diabetics.

The battery unit consists of a cathode sandwiched between an anode and an electron-collecting layer. These are then held in place through a lamination process which coats the battery unit between transparent plastic films.

Lee said that someday, people would be able to monitor their health easily at home, seeking medical attention only when necessary, thanks to the patented invention.

"These fully integrated biochip systems have a huge market potential," he said.

Singapore is pouring billions of dollars into cutting-edge research and development programs in a bid to expand its biomedical sciences industry and reduce its dependence on assembly-line manufacturing.

A government-appointed panel has recommended that Singapore raise its research and development spending to 12 billion Singapore dollars over the next five years.

The amount proposed is more than double the five billion dollars spent on research and development from 2001 to 2005.