Sandia National Laboratories researchers are developing a nano-size battery that one day could be implanted in the eye to power an artificial retina. The artificial retina and accompanying nanobattery will be used to correct certain types of macular degeneration.

“We will use our expertise in multi-scale modeling to understand and predict how transporter structure leads to function, with an initial focus on specialized transporters found in the electric eel,” says Sandia Researcher Susan Rempe. “This information will give us a better understanding of how power is naturally created in biological organisms — information to be used for designing and building the nanobattery.”