Study reveals tears can produce electricity

Scientists have recently discovered a new way for generating electricity through human secretions such as tears or saliva when pressed.

Scientists from the University of Limerick in Ireland found a protein named lysozyme that is present in tears, saliva, mucus, milk and egg whites and helps break down bacterial cell walls. When the protein is changed to crystallized form, it can be manipulated to harvest electricity.

The team applied pressure to a layer of lysozyme crystals that was compressed between two glass slides. They observed the layer generating piezoelectricity, a kind of energy where an electric charge mounts up as a result of the applied pressure.

Publishing their study in Applied Physics Letters, one of the researchers Aimee Stapleton explained, “While piezoelectricity is used all around us, the capacity to generate electricity from this particular protein had not been explored. However, because it is a biological material, it is non-toxic so it could have many innovative applications such as electroactive anti-microbial coatings for medical implants.”

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Scientists believe that this innovative finding can be a doorway to a new era in energy-harvesting electronics. This would embrace innovative implants that give out drugs in the body, controlled and powered by sensors that identify lysozyme under the skin, reported Phys.org.

Lead researcher Tofail Syed expressed, “This is a new approach as scientists so far have tried to understand piezoelectricity in biology using complex hierarchical structures such as tissues, cells or polypeptides rather than investigating simpler fundamental building blocks.”

As Science Alert stated, the team wrote in their study, “We also imagine that lysozyme may be employed as a biodegradable, piezoelectric, and antimicrobial additive/coating to conventional implants.”