Scientists at Draper Laboratory, in Cambridge, MA, are developing a nanosensor that could be injected into the skin, much like tattoo dye, to monitor an individual's blood-sugar level. As the glucose level increases, the "tattoo" would become fluorescent under infrared light, telling a diabetic whether or not they need an insulin shot following a meal.

The most reliable way to measure blood sugar is by pricking the finger for a tiny blood sample and using enzyme-laden test strips to detect glucose. In an attempt to free diabetics from this time-consuming and expensive regime, a number of novel glucose-sensing technologies are under development, from implanted devices that continually monitor blood sugar and dispense insulin, to noninvasive sensors that detect glucose through the skin via infrared light.

 

However, this particular technology is still being tested. The researchers have already tested a sodium-sensing version of the device in mice and they will soon begin animal tests of the glucose-specific sensor. This way, people will just have to wait a little bit longer until they can get the “tattoo” to monitor their blood sugar levels.

 

The gadget developed by Heather Clark and her colleagues consists of 120-nanometer polymer beads coated with a biocompatible material. Within each bead is a fluorescent dye and specialized sensor molecules, designed to detect specific chemicals, such as sodium or glucose. Scientists can swap in different recognition molecules to measure different targets, including chloride, calcium, and glucose.

 

In the long term, Clark envisions a sensor that would be injected into the surface layers of the skin, shallower than tattoo inks "so that it sloughs off over time," she says. A fluorescence monitor, resembling an optical mouse, would then be used to measure the light emitted by the tattoo, and the sensor would be reinjected periodically.

 

"It's unique because it doesn't have any components to be used up," says Clark. Glucose strips, for example, use an enzyme to detect glucose, which needs to be continually replaced. "Other monitors, even nanosensors, have a limited lifetime, which makes implanting them difficult," she adds.

 

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .