Design, fabrication and characterisation of components for microfluidic enzymatic biofuel cells

The concept of a biofuel cell takes inspiration from the natural capability of biological systems to catalyse the conversion of organic matter with a subsequent release of electrical energy. Enzymatic biofuel cells are intended to mimic the processes occurring in nature in a more controlled and efficient manner. Traditional fuel cells rely on the use of toxic catalysts and are often not easily miniaturizable making them unsuitable as implantable power sources. Biofuel cells however use highly selective protein catalysts and renewable fuels. As energy consumption becomes a global issue, they emerge as important tools for energy generation. The microfluidic platforms developed are intended to maximize the amount of electrical energy extracted from renewable fuels which are naturally abundant in the environment and in biological fluids. Combining microfabrication processes, chemical modification and biological surface patterning these devices are promising candidates for micro-power sources for future life science and electronic applications. This thesis considered four main aspects of a biofuel cell research. Firstly, concept of a miniature compartmentalized enzymatic biofuel cell utilizing simple fuels and operating in static conditions is verified and proves the feasibility of enzyme catalysis in energy conversion processes. Secondly, electrode and microfluidic channel study was performed through theoretical investigations of the flow and catalytic reactions which also improved understanding of the enzyme kinetics in the cell. Next, microfluidic devices were fabricated from cost-effective and disposable polymer materials, using the state-of-the-art micro-processing technologies. Integration of the individual components is difficult and multiple techniques to overcome these problems have been investigated. Electrochemical characterization of gold electrodes modified with Nanoporous Gold Structures is also performed. Finally, two strategies for enzyme patterning and encapsulation are discussed. Several protein catalysts have been effectively immobilized on the surface of commercial and microfabricated electrodes by electrochemically assisted deposition in sol-gel and poly-(o-phenylenediamine) polymer matrices and characterised with confirmed catalytic activity.

Triphenylmethane dyes, an alternative for mediated electronic transfer systems in glucose oxidase biofuel cells

The bioelectrochemical behavior of three triphenylmethane (TPM) dyes commonly used as pH indicators, and their application in mediated electron transfer systems for glucose oxidase bioanodes in biofuel cells was investigated. Bromophenol Blue, Bromothymol Blue, Bromocresol Green were compared bio-electrochemically against two widely used mediators, benzoquinone and ferrocene carboxy aldehyde. Biochemical studies were performed in terms of enzymatic oxidation, enzyme affinity, catalytic efficiency and co-factor regeneration. The different features of the TPM dyes as mediators are determined by the characteristics in the oxidation/reduction processes studied electrochemically. The reversibility of the oxidation/reduction processes was also established through the dependence of the voltammetric peaks with the sweep rates. All three dyes showed good performances compared to the FA and BQ when evaluated in a half enzymatic fuel cell. Potentiodynamic and power response experiments showed maxima power densities of 32.8 mu W cm(-2) for ferrocene carboxy aldehyde followed by similar values obtained for TPM dyes around 30 mu W cm(-2) using glucose and mediator concentrations of 10 mmol L(-1) and 1.0 mmol L(-1), respectively. Since no mediator consumption was observed during the bioelectrochemical process, and also good redox re-cycled processes were achieved, the use of triphenylmethane dyes is considered to be promising compared to other mediated systems used with glucose oxiclase bioanodes and/or biofuel cells. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

C-MEMS Based Micro Enzymatic Biofuel Cells

Miniaturized, self-sufficient bioelectronics powered by unconventional micropower may lead to a new generation of implantable, wireless, minimally invasive medical devices, such as pacemakers, defibrillators, drug-delivering pumps, sensor transmitters, and neurostimulators. Studies have shown that micro-enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) are among the most intuitive candidates for in vivo micropower. In the fisrt part of this thesis, the prototype design of an EBFC chip, having 3D intedigitated microelectrode arrays was proposed to obtain an optimum design of 3D microelectrode arrays for carbon microelectromechanical systems (C-MEMS) based EBFCs. A detailed modeling solving partial differential equations (PDEs) by finite element techniques has been developed on the effect of 1) dimensions of microelectrodes, 2) spatial arrangement of 3D microelectrode arrays, 3) geometry of microelectrode on the EBFC performance based on COMSOL Multiphysics. In the second part of this thesis, in order to investigate the performance of an EBFC, behavior of an EBFC chip performance inside an artery has been studied. COMSOL Multiphysics software has also been applied to analyze mass transport for different orientations of an EBFC chip inside a blood artery. Two orientations: horizontal position (HP) and vertical position (VP) have been analyzed. The third part of this thesis has been focused on experimental work towards high performance EBFC. This work has integrated graphene/enzyme onto three-dimensional (3D) micropillar arrays in order to obtain efficient enzyme immobilization, enhanced enzyme loading and facilitate direct electron transfer. The developed 3D graphene/enzyme network based EBFC generated a maximum power density of 136.3 μWcm-2 at 0.59 V, which is almost 7 times of the maximum power density of the bare 3D carbon micropillar arrays based EBFC. To further improve the EBFC performance, reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been integrated onto 3D mciropillar arrays to further increase EBFC performance in the fourth part of this thesisThe developed rGO/CNTs based EBFC generated twice the maximum power density of rGO based EBFC. Through a comparison of experimental and theoretical results, the cell performance efficiency is noted to be 67%.

A biofuel cell with enhanced power output by grape juice

Glucose oxidase and laccase immobilized at multiwalled carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid gel modified electrodes are used as the catalysts of anode and cathode of biofuel cells (BFCs), respectively. The BFC based on glucose and air is proposed. When ferrocene monocarboxylic acid is adopted as the mediator of anode, the power output of the BFC is ca. 4.1 mu W (power density ca. 10.0 mu W cm(-2)), which is higher than the value of 2.7 mu W (power density ca. 6.6 mu W cm(-2)) by taking ferrocene dicarboxylic acid as the mediator. This implies that the mediator with formal potential closing to that of the enzyme does improve the power output. Furthermore, the power output of the BFC is greatly improved by taking grape juice as the fuel of anode rather than glucose. This system also indicates that grape juice as a fuel of the BFC not only is feasible and can also enhances the power output of the BFCs. Besides, it greatly lowers the cost and simplifies the preparation procedure of the BFCs, making the BFC towards "green" bioenergy.

Microbial Fuel Cells: Methodology and Technology

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) research is a rapidly evolving field that lacks established terminology and methods for the analysis of system performance. This makes it difficult for researchers to compare devices on an equivalent basis. The construction and analysis of MFCs requires knowledge of different scientific and engineering fields, ranging from microbiology and electrochemistry to materials and environmental engineering. DescribingMFCsystems therefore involves an understanding of these different scientific and engineering principles. In this paper, we provide a review of the different materials and methods used to construct MFCs, techniques used to analyze system performance, and recommendations on what information to include in MFC studies and the most useful ways to present results.

Low potential detection of glutamate based on the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH at thionine/single-walled carbon nanotubes composite modified electrode

A glutamate biosensor based on the electrocatalytic oxidation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), which was generated by the enzymatic reaction, was developed via employing a single-walled carbon nanotubes/thionine (Th-SWNTs) nanocomposite as a mediator and an enzyme immobilization matrix. The biosensor, which was fabricated by immobilizing glutamate dehydrogenase (GIDH) on the surface of Th-SWNTs, exhibited a rapid response (ca. 5 s), a low detection limit (0.1 mu M), a wide and useful linear range (0.5-400 mu M), high sensitivity (137.3 +/- 15.7) mu A mM(-1) cm(-2), higher biological affinity, as well as good stability and repeatability. In addition, the common interfering species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and 4-acetamidophenol, did not cause any interference due to the use of a low operating potential (190 mV vs. NHE). The biosensor can be used to quantify the concentration of glutamate in the physiological level. The Th-SWNTs system represents a simple and effective approach to the integration of dehydrogenase and electrodes, which can provide analytical access to a large group of enzymes for wide range of bioelectrochemical applications including biosensors and biofuel cells.

直接型生物燃料电池酶催化剂的研究

生物燃料电池作为一种真正意义上的理想绿色环保电源，由于可作为小功率长寿命的体内植入电源，已成为人们研究的热点课题之一。目前对生物燃料电池的研究主要集中在间接型生物燃料电池，已取得一定进展。但是间接型生物燃料电池具有电子传递链长、效率低等弱点，而直接型生物燃料电池有望克服以上缺点，成为更具研究潜力的新一代生物燃料电池。本文从探索简单、有效的酶固定方法入手，制备炭载辣根过氧化物酶（HRP）、漆酶（Lac）、酪氨酸酶（Tyr）作直接型生物燃料电池的阴极催化剂和炭载葡萄糖氧化酶（GoD）作阳极催化剂。用多种谱学方法表征了炭载酶催化剂的结构特征和用电化学方法研究了炭载酶的直接电化学及电催化性能。得到的主要结果和结论如下：1．以比活性高、稳定、结构清楚、有纯的商品化试剂且价廉的HRP为模型分子来探索用平衡吸附法将HRP固定到活性炭表面，用Nofion膜加固并修饰到玻碳（GC）电极上，以期制备得到炭载HRP修饰的Gc电极（HRP-C／GC）。实验结果表明，炭载HRP能进行准可逆的直接电化学反应，式电位（0）在50-700mv／s的范围内几乎不随扫速变化，平均值为C0．362±0．001）v，表观速率常数（ks）为（3．4±0．69）s-1HRP-C/GC电极对HZoZ还原有很好和稳定的电催化活性，表明固定在活性炭上的HRP能保持其生物活性，而且能稳定数月时间。因此，固定在活性炭上的HRP有可能用作直接型生物燃料电池的阴极催化剂。由上述结果可见，用平衡吸附法把HRP固载到活性炭上，并用Nofion膜加固的酶电极的制备方法具有简单且有效的特点，有可能作为直接型生物燃料电池酶催化剂的制备方法。2．用平衡吸附法将Lac和Tyr分别固定到活性炭上，发现炭载Lac和Tyr都能进行准可逆的直接电化学反应，其0，在10-150mv／s的范围内几乎不随扫速而变化，分别为-0．166和-0．139v。另外，还发现炭载Lac和Tyr对02的还原有明显的电催化作用，表明炭载Lac和Tyr仍能保持它们的生物活性，因而能作直接型生物燃料电池的阴极催化剂。3．用平衡吸附法将葡萄糖氧化酶（GOD）固定到活性炭表面，发现炭载GOD能进行准可逆的直接电化学反应，其0，在10-200mv／s的范围内几乎不随扫速而变化，平均值为C0．467±0．002）v；ks值为（1．18±0．59）5-1；且其直接电化学反应是2e＋ZH＋的过程。另外，还发现炭载GOD对p-D（＋）葡萄糖的氧化有明显的电催化作用，表明炭载GOD没有发生变性，仍保持其生物活性，所以能用作直接型生物燃料电池的阳极催化剂。

聚合物锂离子电池和生物燃料电池的相关研究

本论文分为两个部分研究了铿离子电池和生物燃料电池中的关键材料，主要的创新点和结论如下。采用聚合物电解质是提高铿二次电池性能的有效方法之一。聚合物电解质良好电导率、高铿离子迁移数、宽电化学窗口以及好的机械性能是其应用于铿二次电池中的关键。论文的第一部分主要讨论了聚合物、增塑剂和无机纳米粒子等对复合电解质体系的化学和物理性质的影响。我们采用溶液浇注一浸渍法制备了各种纳米复合聚合物电解质，例如开发出基于PVDFHFP或梳状聚合物基体的全固态以及聚合物和碳酸醋形成的胶体聚合物电解质体系。首次制备了具有较高离子电导率的单离子聚合物电解质。考察了两类纳米粒子填充物对体系的影响：一种是“惰性”发烟硅；另一种是“活性”蒙脱土。比较了全固态和胶体聚合物电解质体系电化学性质的不同之处。采用电化学交流阻抗，示差扫描量热法，X衍射，拉曼光谱，红外光谱，扫描电镜，循环伏安等方法详细研究了聚合物电解质中各组分对体系离子电导率和机械性能的影响。研究结果表明，纳米复合物为开发具有特定电化学和机械性能的电解质提供了一种有效的途径，它对聚合物电解质的物理性质影响明显。纳米粒子的加入增强了体系的机械性能，同时也使体系对溶剂的吸附能力增加。在全固态聚合物电解质中加入增塑剂，形成胶体态聚合物电解质，体系的电导率大大增加。所制备的胶体复合物电解质的室温电导率可以达到10-3s cm-1的数量级，机械强度好，阳离子迁移数高。指出选择合适的添加剂及复合方法，控制界面的结构和形态，形成尽可能多的高导电的界面，是获得电导率高和机械性能良好的聚合物电解质的有效途径。并讨论了聚合物电解质在铿离子电池中的应用。 近年来，针对生物燃料电池的研究得到了广泛关注，其中实现蛋白质酶分子和电极之间的直接电子传递是研究中的热点。论文的第二部分主要研究了生物燃料电池中的酶电极。通过对碳纳米管（MWNTs）进行预处理，使其表面带有功能性官能团，从而可以实现酶分子在碳纳米管表面的固定，同时还保持了其生物活性。采用吸附法将微过氧化物酶-11（MP-11）或葡萄糖氧化酶（GOx）等生物分子固定到MWNTs上制成酶修饰电极，研究MWNTs对酶和电极之间电子传递的促进作用。当酶分子（MP-11，GOX）固定到MWNTs表面后，循环伏安结果显示出一对可逆的氧化还原峰，对应酶分子的直接电子转移。研究结果表明这种方法可以扩展到固定其他生物酶分子以及实现蛋白质酶分子和电极之间的直接电化学，可以获得一系列氧化还原酶分子的电化学参数，如反应速率常数等。同时，我们还研究了酶修饰电极对其底物的电催化反应。研究结果表明，该修饰电极对底物的电化学反应表现出较好的催化活性。我们还研究了酶分子在MWNTs修饰铂微电极上的电化学行为。这些研究为研制生物燃料电池提供了一种固定酶以及制备电极材料较好的方法。

Facile preparation of amperometric laccase biosensor with multifunction based on the matrix of carbon nanotubes-chitosan composite

The carbon nanotubes-chitosan (CNTs-CS) composite provides a suitable biosensing matrix due to its good conductivity, high stability, and good biocompatibility. Enzymes can be firmly incorporated into the matrix without the aid of other cross-linking reagents. The composite is easy to form insoluble film in solution above pH 6.3. Based on this, a facilely fabricated amperometric biosensor by entrapping laccase into the CNTs-CS composite film has been developed. At pH 6.0, the fungi laccase incorporated into the composite film remains better catalytic activity than that dissolved in solution. The system is in favor of the accessibility of substrate to the active site of laccase, thus the affinity to substrates is improved greatly, such as 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), catechol, and 0, with K. values of 19.86 mu M, 9.43 mu M, and 3.22 mM, respectively. The major advantages of the as-prepared biosensor are: detecting different substrates (ABTS, catechol, and 02), possessing high affinity and sensitivity, durable long-term stability, and facile preparation procedure. On the other hand, the system can be applied in fabrication of biofuel cells as the cathodic catalysts based on its good electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction.

Fabrication, caractérisation et étude électrochimique de microcapsules conductrices à base de dérivés carbazole aminés pour la conception de biopiles enzymatiques

L’objectif général de cette thèse est de développer une plateforme d’immobilisation d’enzymes efficace pour application en biopile. Grâce à la microencapsulation ainsi qu’au choix judicieux des matériaux polymériques pour la fabrication de la plateforme d’immobilisation, l’efficacité du transfert électronique entre l’enzyme encapsulée et l’électrode serait amélioré. Du même coup, les biopiles employant cette plateforme d’immobilisation d’enzymes pourrait voir leur puissance délivrée être grandement augmentée et atteindre les niveaux nécessaires à l’alimentation d’implants artificiels pouvant remplacer des organes telque le pancréas, les reins, le sphincter urinaire et le coeur. Dans un premier temps, le p-phénylènediamine a été employé comme substrat pour la caractérisation de la laccase encapsulée dans des microcapsules de poly(éthylèneimine). La diffusion de ce substrat à travers les microcapsules a été étudiée sous diverses conditions par l’entremise de son oxidation électrochimique et enzymatique afin d’en évaluer sa réversibilité et sa stabilité. La voltampérométrie cyclique, l’électrode à disque tournante (rotating disk electrode - RDE) et l’électrode à O2 ont été les techniques employées pour cette étude. Par la suite, la famille des poly(aminocarbazoles) et leurs dérivés a été identifée pour remplacer le poly(éthylèneimine) dans la conception de microcapsules. Ces polymères possèdent sur leurs unités de répétition (mono- ou diamino) des amines primaires qui seraient disponibles lors de la polymérisation interfaciale avec un agent réticulant tel qu’un chlorure de diacide. De plus, le 1,8-diaminocarbazole (unité de répétition) possède, une fois polymérisé, les propriétés électrochimiques recherchées pour un transfert d’électrons efficace entre l’enzyme et l’électrode. Il a toutefois été nécessaire de développer une route de synthèse afin d’obtenir le 1,8-diaminocarbazole puisque le protocole de synthèse disponible dans la littérature a été jugé non viable pour être utilisé à grande échelle. De plus, aucun protocole de synthèse pour obtenir du poly(1,8-diaminocarbazole) directement n’a été trouvé. Ainsi, deux isomères de structure (1,6 et 1,8-diaminocarbazole) ont pu être synthétisés en deux étapes. La première étape consistait en une substitution électrophile du 3,6-dibromocarbazole en positions 1,8 et/ou 1,6 par des groupements nitro. Par la suite, une réaction de déhalogénation réductive à été réalisée en utilisant le Et3N et 10% Pd/C comme catalyseur dans le méthanol sous atmosphère d’hydrogène. De plus, lors de la première étape de synthèse, le composé 3,6-dibromo-1-nitro-carbazole a été obtenu; un monomère clé pour la synthèse du copolymère conducteur employé. Finalement, la fabrication de microcapsules conductrices a été réalisée en incorporant le copolymère poly[(9H-octylcarbazol-3,6-diyl)-alt-co-(2-amino-9H-carbazol-3,6-diyl)] au PEI. Ce copolymère a pu être synthétisé en grande quantité pour en permettre son utilisation lors de la fabrication de microcapsules. Son comportement électrochimique s’apparentait à celui du poly(1,8-diaminocarbazole). Ces microcapsules, avec laccase encapsulée, sont suffisamment perméables au PPD pour permettre une activité enzymatique détectable par électrode à O2. Par la suite, la modification de la surface d’une électrode de platine a pu être réalisée en utilisant ces microcapsules pour l’obtention d’une bioélectrode. Ainsi, la validité de cette plateforme d’immobilisation d’enzymes développée, au cours de cette thèse, a été démontrée par le biais de l’augmentation de l’efficacité du transfert électronique entre l’enzyme encapsulée et l’électrode.

Approaches for multicopper oxidases in the design of electrochemical sensors for analytical applications

We report an effective approach for the construction of a biomimetic sensor of multicopper oxidases by immobilizing a cyclic-tetrameric copper(II) species, containing the ligand (4-imidazolyl)ethylene-2-amino-1-ethylpyridine (apyhist), in the Nafion (R) membrane on a vitreous carbon electrode surface. This complex provides a tetranuclear arrangement of copper ions that allows an effective reduction of oxygen to water, in a catalytic cycle involving four electrons. The electrochemical reduction of oxygen was studied at pH 9.0 buffer solution by using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, rotating disk electrode voltammetry and scanning electrochemical microscopy techniques. The mediator shows good electrocatalytic ability for the reduction of O(2) at pH 9.0, with reduction of overpotential (350 mV) and increased current response in comparison with results obtained with a bare glassy carbon electrode. The heterogeneous rate constant (k(ME)`) for the reduction of O(2) at the modified electrode was determined by using a Koutecky-Levich plot. In addition, the charge transport rate through the coating and the apparent diffusion coefficient of O(2) into the modifier film were also evaluated. The overall process was found to be governed by the charge transport through the coating, occurring at the interface or at a finite layer at the electrode/coating interface. The proposed study opens up the way for the development of bioelectronic devices based on molecular recognition and self-organization. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of paper based electrodes: From air-breathing to paintable enzymatic cathodes

This work presents the results from the development of bio-cathodes for the application on paper-based biofuel cells. Our main goal here is to demonstrate the possibility of using different designs of air-breathing bio-cathodes and ink-based bio-cathodes for this new type of paper based electrochemical cell. The electrochemical performance for the bio-electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction was studied by using open circuit voltage and amperometry measurements, as well as polarization curves to probe the four-electron reduction reaction of ambient oxygen catalyzed by bilirubin oxidase (BOx). The electrochemical measurements showed that all procedures allowed the direct electron transfer from the active site of the bilirubin oxidase to the electrode surface with a limiting current density of almost 500 mu A cm(-2) for an air-breathing BOx cathode and 150 mu A cm(-2) for an ink based BOx cathode. Under a load of 300 mV a stable current density was obtained for 12 h of continuous operation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PMMA-CNT matrices for vacuum electronic, biosensing and energy applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are interesting materials with extraordinary properties for various applications. Here, vertically-aligned multiwalled CNTs (VA-MWCNTs) are grown by our dual radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). After optimizing the synthesis processes, these VA-MWCNTs were fabricated in to a series of devices for applications in vacuum electronics, glucose biosensors, glucose biofuel cells, and supercapacitors In particular, we have created the so-called PMMA-CNT matrices (opened-tip CNTs embedded in poly-methyl methacrylate) that are promising components in a novel energy sensing, generation and storage (SGS) system that integrate glucose biosensors, biofuel cells, and supercapacitors. The content of this thesis work is described as follows: 1. We have first optimized the synthesis of VA-MWCNTs by our PECVD technique. The effects of CH4 flow rate and growth duration on the lengths of these CNTs were studied. 2. We have characterized these VA-MWCNTs for electron field emission. We noticed that as grown CNTs suffers from high emission threshold, poor emission density and poor long-term stability. We attempted a series of experiments to understand ways to overcome these problems. First, we decrease the screening effects on VA-MWCNTs by creating arrays of self-assembled CNT bundles that are catalyst-free and opened tips. These bundles are found to enhance the field emission stability and emission density. Subsequently, we have created PMMA-CNT matrices that are excellent electron field emitters with an emission threshold field of more than two-fold lower than that of the as-grown sample. Furthermore, no significant emission degradation was observed after a continuous emission test of 40 hours (versus much shorter tests in reported literatures). Based on the new understanding we learnt from the PMMA-CNT matrices, we further created PMMA-STO-CNT matrices by embedding opened-tip VA-MWCNTs that are coated with strontium titanate (SrTiO3) with PMMA. We found that the PMMA-STO-CNT matrices have all the desired properties of the PMMA-CNT matrices. Furthermore, PMMA-STO-CNT matrices offer much lower emission threshold field, about five-fold lower than that of as grown VA-MWCNTs. The new understandings we obtained are important for practical application of VA-MWCNTs in field emission devices. 3. Subsequently, we have functionalized PMMA-CNT matrices for glucose biosensing. Our biosensor was developed by immobilized glucose oxidase (GOχ) on the opened-tip CNTs exposed on the matrices. The durability, stability and sensitivity of the biosensor were studied. In order to understand the performance of miniaturized glucose biosensors, we have then investigated the effect of working electrode area on the sensitivity and current level of our biosensors. 4. Next, functionalized PMMA-CNT matrices were utilized for energy generation and storage. We found that PMMA-CNT matrices are promising component in glucose/O2 biofuel cells (BFCs) for energy generation. The construction of these BFCs and the effect of the electrode area on the power density of these BFCs were investigated. Then, we have attempted to use PMMA-CNT matrices as supercapacitors for energy storage devices. The performance of these supercapacitors and ways to enhance their performance are discussed. 5. Finally, we further evaluated the concept of energy SGS system that integrated glucose biosensors, biofuel cells, and supercapacitors. This SGS system may be implantable to monitor and control the blood glucose level in our body.

A biofuel cell harvesting energy from glucose-air and fruit juice-air

The membraneless biofuel cell (BFC) is facile prepared based on glucose oxidase and laccase as anodic and cathodic catalyst, respectively, by using 1,1'-dicarboxyferrocene as the mediators of both anode and cathode. The BFC can work by taking glucose as fuel in air-saturated solution, in which air serves as the oxidizer of the cathode. More interestingly, the fruit juice containing glucose, e.g. grape, banana or orange juice as the fuels substituting for glucose can make the BFC work. The BFC shows several advantages which have not been reported to our knowledge: (1) it is membraneless BFC which can work with same mediator on both anode and cathode; (2) fruit juice can act as fuels of BFCs substituting for usually used glucose; (3) especially, the orange juice can greatly enhance the power output rather than that of glucose, grape or banana juice. Besides, the facile and simple preparation procedure and easy accessibility of fruit juice as well as air being whenever and everywhere imply that our system has promising potential for the development and practical application of BFCs.