Implantable oxygen-ion battery shrinks cancer tumors in mice.
Chinese scientists have developed an implantable and self-charging saltwater battery that helps kill tumor cells by regulating the microenvironment supporting a tumor's growth. The battery, in combined use with a prodrug called tirapazamine, reduced tumor volume by 90 percent on average over the course of two weeks and eliminated tumors in four out of five mice. The battery can form a discharge and self-charging cycle to consume oxygen in mouse tumors steadily, thus regulating a tumor's oxygen content and pH level.