ArticleNature2017
An electric-eel-inspired soft power source from stacked hydrogels.
Article in Nature, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 111 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
111 citing papers in PubMed.
- Boosting ionic conductivity of single-ion conductive polyelectrolyte elastomers via high-dielectric plasticizers.Nature materials · 2026Article
- Mineral-originated bioelectronics for inhibition via lithium electrochemistry.Nature materials · 2026Article
- Spray-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator With Ultra-High Current for Hydrogen Generation.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- A System-Level Review of Bio-Inspired Technologies for Next-Generation UAVs: From Aerodynamics to Energy Systems.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Analysis and Applications of Neuromorphic Memristors in Artificial Intelligence Computing.Nano-micro letters · 2026Review
- Fully Printed Ionic Diodes from Polymerizable Ionic Liquids.ACS nano · 2026Article
- Resting-Potential-Inspired Solid-State Iontronic Osmotic Power Source Enabled by Polarized MXene.Nano-micro letters · 2026Article
- Self-powered intelligence for personalized healthcare.National science review · 2026Review
- Asymmetric Doping of a Polyelectrolyte Network Into a Tough Slide-Ring Hydrogel Membrane to Enhance Sustainable Osmotic Energy Harvesting.Small science · 2026Article
- Confinement-induced giant ionic thermovoltage at minimal temperature gradients via series-integrated micro-thermoelectric cells in hierarchical hydrogels.National science review · 2026Article
- Sustainable Cellulose Enables Blue Energy Toward Osmotic Energy Conversion.Nano-micro letters · 2026Review
- Smart Energy-Harvesting Coating for Moisture-Droplets Based on Ionic Diodes and Transistor-Like Structures.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Electric-Fish-Inspired Thin Hydrogel Electrocytes Achieve High Power Density and Environmental Robustness.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Biomimetic action-potential transmission via mechano-gated potassium channels assembled by quadruple hydrogen-bonded crown ethers.Science advances · 2026Article
- Intrinsic asymmetric iontronic-interfaces for giant power generation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Self-Powered Flexible Sensors: Recent Advances, Technological Breakthroughs, and Application Prospects.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Continuous piezoionicity-driven electromechanical coupling in mechanically robust conductive eutectogels.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Nature-Inspired Innovation in Electrical Engineering Technologies and Applications.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Design Strategies and Roles of Hydrogels for Sustainable Energy Conversion and Harvesting from Natural and Biological Environments.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2025Review
- Hydrogel-based sweat chloride sensor with high sensitivity and low hysteresis.Biosensors & bioelectronics · 2025Article
51 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Progress towards the integration of technology into living organisms requires electrical power sources that are biocompatible, mechanically flexible, and able to harness the chemical energy available inside biological systems. Conventional batteries were not designed with these criteria in mind. The electric organ of the knifefish Electrophorus electricus (commonly known as the electric eel) is, however, an example of an electrical power source that operates within biological constraints while featuring power characteristics that include peak potential differences of 600 volts and currents of 1 ampere. Here we introduce an electric-eel-inspired power concept that uses gradients of ions between miniature polyacrylamide hydrogel compartments bounded by a repeating sequence of cation- and anion-selective hydrogel membranes. The system uses a scalable stacking or folding geometry that generates 110 volts at open circuit or 27 milliwatts per square metre per gel cell upon simultaneous, self-registered mechanical contact activation of thousands of gel compartments in series while circumventing power dissipation before contact. Unlike typical batteries, these systems are soft, flexible, transparent, and potentially biocompatible. These characteristics suggest that artificial electric organs could be used to power next-generation implant materials such as pacemakers, implantable sensors, or prosthetic devices in hybrids of living and non-living systems.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.