A Microscale Power Generator Driven by Tethered Bacterial Flagellar Motors

由系留细菌鞭毛电机驱动的微型发电机

• 批准号: 1810014
• 负责人: Steve Tung
• 金额: $ 31.49万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1810014&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Microscale; Power; Generator; Driven; Tethered

The advancement of micro- and nanotechnology has enabled the rapid development of compact electronic devices for a wide range of commercial and military applications. However, even though almost every component in an electronic device such as a cell phone or laptop is getting smaller, the batteries used to power them are still relatively large with a low power density. Several alternative power generators including the direct methanol fuel cells, the micro internal combustion engines, and the biological solar cells are currently being developed in an attempt to overcome the constraints of the battery technology. While achieving different degrees of success, all three designs still require significant improvement in a number of technical areas in order to outperform the existing batteries. The present project will develop a new microscale power generator that is designed to meet the demand of both power density and system size. It is also environmentally friendly with no harmful byproducts. Essentially, the proposed power generator is a microscale dynamo except it is driven by rotating biological cells instead of rotating magnets. The project will utilize novel biological and engineering techniques to create a hybrid system that converts the rotational power of the highly efficient molecular motors in the biological cells into electrical power. Due to the forward-looking nature of the proposed works, the project is expected to generate a wealth of new knowledges that will impact the design of future electronic devices and also significantly enhance our fundamental understanding of the molecular motors. The project will provide significant educational opportunities for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels through cross-training in multidisciplinary areas including microbiology and nanotechnology. Such experience will provide them with a solid foundation to face the future job market that increasingly requires multidisciplinary skills.The proposed biological dynamo will integrate bacterial flagellar motors with ferromagnetic beads and micro/nano coils in a microfluidic system. Flagellar motor is a nanoscale molecular motor capable of a large rotary torque and highpower output. When the motor is tethered to a substrate through a shortened flagellar filament, it turns the bacterial cell body at a stable rotational rate of 10 Hz, providing a natural source of rotational power. Manipulation and tethering of the flagellar motors in the microfluidic system will be accomplished by optically induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP). The proposed project will fabricate a microscale hybrid system that combines an ODEP chip with the flagellar motors of a non-pathogenic, genetically engineered strain of Escherichia coli. Based on the result of a preliminary numerical simulation, the power density of the flagellar motor dynamo is similar to that of other biological based microscale power generators. Fabrication of the flagellar motor dynamo will be based on the core flagellar motor assembly technologies developed by the PIs' research groups over the last decade. Specific objectives of the project include the development of an effective cell tethering protocol, the development of an effective bead attachment strategy, the design and fabrication of an ODEP chip, the application of the ODEP chip to capture and enable local tethering of free swimming cells, and finally a thorough performance testing of the flagellar motor dynamo.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

微技术和纳米技术的进步使得紧凑型电子器件的快速发展成为可能，用于广泛的商业和军事应用。然而，即使手机或笔记本电脑等电子设备中的几乎每个组件都在变小，但用于为其供电的电池仍然相对较大，功率密度较低。目前正在开发几种替代发电机，包括直接甲醇燃料电池、微型内燃机和生物太阳能电池，以试图克服电池技术的限制。虽然取得了不同程度的成功，但这三种设计仍然需要在许多技术领域进行重大改进，以超越现有的电池。本计画将发展一种新型的微型发电机，其设计可同时满足功率密度与系统尺寸的需求。它也是环境友好的，没有有害的副产品。从本质上讲，所提出的发电机是一个微型发电机，除了它是由旋转的生物细胞而不是旋转的磁铁驱动。该项目将利用新的生物和工程技术创建一个混合系统，将生物细胞中高效分子马达的旋转动力转化为电能。由于拟议工作的前瞻性，该项目预计将产生丰富的新知识，将影响未来电子设备的设计，并显着提高我们对分子马达的基本理解。该项目将通过微生物学和纳米技术等多学科领域的交叉培训，为本科生和研究生提供重要的教育机会。这些经验将为他们提供一个坚实的基础，以面对未来越来越需要多学科技能的就业市场。拟议中的生物发电机将在微流体系统中集成细菌鞭毛马达、铁磁珠和微/纳米线圈。鞭毛马达是一种具有大转矩、高功率输出的纳米级分子马达。当马达通过缩短的鞭毛丝拴在基质上时，它以10 Hz的稳定旋转速率转动细菌细胞体，提供旋转动力的天然来源。微流体系统中鞭毛马达的操纵和束缚将通过光诱导介电电泳（ODEP）来完成。拟议的项目将制造一个微型混合系统，将ODEP芯片与非致病性的基因工程大肠杆菌菌株的鞭毛马达相结合。基于初步的数值模拟结果，鞭毛马达发电机的功率密度与其他生物基微尺度发电机的功率密度相似。鞭毛马达发电机的制造将基于PI研究小组在过去十年中开发的核心鞭毛马达组装技术。该项目的具体目标包括开发有效的细胞系留协议，开发有效的珠附着策略，设计和制造ODEP芯片，应用ODEP芯片捕获并实现自由游泳细胞的局部系留，最后是鞭毛马达发电机的彻底性能测试。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得支持通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。