Innovative Method to Detect Diabetes

Associate professor in the School of Energy, Environmental, Biological, and Medical Engineering (SEEBME) and UC researcher, Anastasios Angelopoulos led a research team for formulating an innovative method to detect diabetes without the need to extract blood.

Researchers are focused on simplifying the complicated diabetes detection process by developing a hand-held device that can measure acetone in patient’s breath. Acetone serves to be a positive indicator of blood glucose levels.

During the Ohio Innovation Sensor Summit, Angelopoulos and doctoral student Adam Worrall presented their paper titled “Real Time Optical Detection of Medical Biomarkers and Hazardous Materials Utilizing Polymer Catalyst Membranes”.

This research targets creating portable and affordable detection device for detecting gaseous biomarkers and hazards. The real-time device developed by Angelopoulos and team is expected to deliver instant results.

A method that identifies low concentrations of harmful compounds like volatile organic compounds in the body has been developed by the research team. Here, perfluorosulfonic acid (PSA) polymer membranes act as a catalyst delivering chemselective colorimetric reactions (color-coded chemical results).

Less color intensity indicates low blood glucose levels and vice-versa. Angelopoulos intends creating a color intensity chart for enabling catalyzed color –based detection of specific levels of blood glucose.

PSA ionomers are ideal for detecting formaldehyde, acetone, and other anhydrides existing with resorcinol. Using visible light spectroscopy, selective detection of specific products resulting from reactions can be achieved. From this, the amount of exposure subjected to an individual can be analyzed. The new innovative blood glucose monitor focuses on detecting acetone in human breath.

The new device development is challenged by water, which forms a major part in human breath. It is readily absorbed into the PSA polymer membrane and impedes with acetone measurement, impacting optically sensitive results. This challenge can be overcome by altering the PSA membrane to reduce the interference of humidity on the reaction.

Prior to commercializing this portable device, it has to comply with stringent FDA regulations and extensive clinical testing.

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