THE hair-like threads sticking out of some species of bacteria may hold the secret to more powerful electronics and circuits that will work underwater.
Bacteria use pili, as the threads are known, to connect with other bacteria, and they also conduct electricity, says microbiologist Derek Lovley at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Lovley's team sheared some from Geobacter bacteria to study their properties in isolation. They found that conductivity increases with pH and as temperatures fall - just as in metals. The team then engineered the bacteria to boost pili production, which in turn boosted the overall conductivity of Geobacter biofilms (Nature Nanotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.119).
The applications are numerous, says Lovley's colleague Mark Tuominen. The small size of pili and their ability to form a lattice could dramatically increase surface area inside capacitors, allowing them to store more electrical charge.
What's more, because the bacteria live in water, they may also help develop waterproof electronics.
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