Self-charging biocompatible supercapacitors for enabling on-time and efficient drug delivery for chronic diseases

World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being that determines one's quality of life". According to WHO, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer are leading causes of death, with an estimated million people dying from them in 2020. Scientific communities worldwide are trying to figure out new medications and develop new medical devices using cutting-edge technology to treat these types of health problems. Drug delivery systems are a rapidly growing technology that can be found in a variety of healthcare settings. Traditional drug therapy, such as oral administration or injection, has various disadvantages, including the inability to treat patients for long periods, a narrow therapeutic window, and a complex dose regimen. The recent development of on-time and efficient implantable drug delivery devices holds the key to reducing these disadvantages. It will reduce patients’ discomfort during regular clinical visits, and appropriate doses can be administered by these implantable devices. Currently, they are battery-powered, which are bulky, possess a short life span, and have the possibility of leakage that may threaten the human body. Here, we propose the development of a self-charging biocompatible supercapacitor (BioSC) to provide power to enable accurate, on-time, and efficient drug delivery. These BioSCs will have high cycle life and use body fluids as electrolytes. They can also be used to regulate the power requirement in case the dosage of the drug changes over time.