Peroxynitrite is a source of hydroxyl radical-like reactivity, and it directly oxidizes proteins and other macromolecules with resultant carbonyl formation from side-chain and peptide-bond cleavage.
The hybrid design which Mr Jubb has come up with uses a solid fuel called hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, a form of synthetic rubber used to make things like aircraft tyres.
Since silver nanoparticles act in cleaning biological stains and smells by producing hydroxyl and other oxygen radicals, which are toxic in vivo, then if they were ingested the consequences could be dire.
Fortunately for the future of the battery, it turns out its color molecules are also carriers of carbonyl and hydroxyl groups that make it ripe for use as an electrode and that purpurin is far easier to process than other organic materials: "These aromatic systems are electron-rich molecules that easily coordinate with lithium, " said CCNY Professor George John.