Discovery Would End Daily Diabetic Testing

Researchers have developed a “biosensor” that can test the blood level of diabetics and possibly eliminate the need for daily pinpricks.

The biosensor can detect glucose in saliva, tears and urine, and could be manufactured at a low cost.

"It's an inherently non-invasive way to estimate glucose content in the body," Jonathan Claussen, a former Purdue University doctoral student and now a research scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, said in a statement. “It..might eventually help to eliminate or reduce the frequency of using pinpricks for diabetes testing.”

Although many biosensors are able to detect glucose levels in blood, this latest one has the ability to measure glucose through saliva, tears and urine as well as blood. Biosensors are devices that measure physiological changes via enzymes or antibodies. Among other materials, the newly developed biosensor includes the enzyme glucose oxidase.

Clausen said that substituting other enzymes for glucose oxidase could lead to treatment for medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.

The finding, by Claussen and a team of researchers, is being published in the journal “Advanced Functional Materials.”