An anticoagulant supercapacitor for implantable applications.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Implantable electronic medical devices require reliable energy storage.
• Supercapacitors in contact with blood can cause coagulation and thrombosis, posing health risks.
• Existing supercapacitors lack anticoagulant properties crucial for in vivo applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize an anticoagulant supercapacitor for implantable bioelectronics.
• To enhance the hemocompatibility of supercapacitors by incorporating heparin.
• To evaluate the performance and in vivo functionality of the developed anticoagulant supercapacitor.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized heparin (Hep)-doped poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) via chemical oxidation polymerization.
• Fabricated an anticoagulant supercapacitor using PEDOT: Hep as the electrode material and bacterial cellulose as the electrolyte layer through in-situ polymerization.
• Assessed hemocompatibility (hemolysis rate), anticoagulant performance (coagulation time), electrochemical stability (cycle stability), and in vivo power delivery for implanted heart rate sensors.

Main Results:

• The PEDOT: Hep material exhibited anticoagulant activity.
• The supercapacitor demonstrated high hemocompatibility with a hemolysis rate below 5%.
• The device showed good anticoagulant performance (coagulation time of 63.4 s), reasonable cycle stability (76.24% capacitance retention after 20,000 cycles), and successfully powered implanted heart rate sensors in mice.

Conclusions:

• Heparin doping of PEDOT creates a hemocompatible and anticoagulant bioelectrode material.
• The developed anticoagulant supercapacitor is suitable for implantable bioelectronic applications.
• This work presents a viable platform for enhancing the safety and performance of implantable energy storage devices.