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Saliva Can Be Used For Diabetes Management
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Biological engineers at Brown University have been able to devise a biological tool to measure glucose levels in the human saliva. When this technique is approved, it would drastically change the life of the diabetic who need actual blood to be taken from their finger to measure blood glucose levels.
The device is a biochip that is able to read plasmonic interferometers that is usable to determine a wide range of substances in the body and in the environment.
Approval for this technique would greatly affect the nearly twenty six million Americans suffering from the condition and the million of others throughout the world. The current protocol regarding the accurate measurement of blood sugar levels in the body. This is invasive with many suffering pain or thickened fingertips because of the repetitive measurement.
The science behind this technique was achieved through the work of Brown University engineers who etched thousands of plasmonic interferometers into a biochip. Through the interaction of electrons and light, the device would be able to measure the glucose molecule content in saliva. The main drawback though is that glucose in the human saliva is one hundred times less in concentration compared to blood.
"This is proof of concept that plasmonic interferometers can be used to detect molecules in low concentrations, using a footprint that is ten times smaller than a human hair," said Domenico Pacifici, assistant professor of engineering and lead author of the paper published in Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
The researchers carved a hundren nanometer wide slit to be able to etch a couple of 200 nanometer wide grooves. The slits captures light while the grooves scattered them. These scattered photons interacts with electrons resulting in interactions that create plasmon polariton. The interference and the presence of an analyte would generate changes in the light intensity that is then measured.
Changing the distance between the grooves and the slit, allowing to tune to the interference. After establishing base lines, the glucose levels can be measured with fluids less than 0.36 deciliters.
Pacifici added, "It could be possible to use these biochips to carry out the screening of multiple biomarkers for individual patients, all at once and in parallel, with unprecedented sensitivity. The proposed approach will enable very high throughput detection of environmentally and biologically relevant analytes in an extremely compact design. We can do it with a sensitivity that rivals modern technologies."
Bobby Castro is the online editor at the Diabetes Forum, where he has published a number of articles about general diabetes and many other topics.
Article submitted Thursday, February 09, 2012 & read 2 times.
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