Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a lower-cost component for an experimental injectable glucose sensor, potentially advancing more affordable continuous glucose-monitoring technologies for people living with diabetes. The study was published in ACS Measurement Science AU.
The research centers on a nonenzymatic glucose-sensing platform that uses fluorescent molecules to measure glucose concentrations. Unlike many systems that rely on enzymes, this approach uses near-infrared fluorescence to track changes in glucose levels through light signals.
The sensing system operates through competitive binding: as glucose concentrations increase, glucose molecules compete with a fluorescent sugar compound for binding sites on a protein known as concanavalin A, or ConA.
The team compared several glucose-binding compounds and found that beta-mannopentaose, a significantly less expensive material than the alpha-mannopentaose compound used in earlier versions, provided comparable sensing performance. The lower-cost material also performed well in artificial interstitial fluid, which mimics the environment beneath the skin.
"The surprising part was how closely the lower-cost material matched the performance of the more expensive alternative," said Dr. Sayantan Tripathy, assistant research scientist in Texas A&M’s Optical and Bio-Sensing Laboratory and the study’s lead author. "In this case, the cheaper option wasn’t really a compromise, and that’s an important finding when you’re thinking about future glucose-monitoring technologies."
The sensing material is incorporated into a small hydrogel designed to be injected into tissue beneath the skin. Dr. Gerard Coté, principal investigator of the study and a professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering, noted that developing an affordable sensor requires considering both material costs and functionality.
