- Brooke Beier: The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. bbeier@purdue.edu
Proof-of-concept studies that display the potential of using a glucose-sensitive hydrogel as a continuous glucose sensor are presented. The swelling ratio, porosity, and diffusivity of the hydrogel increased with glucose concentration. In glucose solutions of 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg/dL, the hydrogel swelling ratios were 4.9, 12.3, 15.9, and 21.7, respectively, and the swelling was reversible. The impedance across the hydrogel depended solely on the thickness and had an average increase of 47 Ω/mm. The hydrogels exposed to a hyperglycemic solution were more porous than the hydrogels exposed to a normal glycemic solution. The diffusivity of 390 Da MW fluorescein isothiocyanate in hydrogels exposed to normal and hyperglycemic solutions was examined using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and was found to be 9.3 × 10(-14) and 41.4 × 10(-14) m(2)/s, respectively, compared to 6.2 × 10(-10) m(2)/s in glucose solution. There was no significant difference between the permeability of hydrogels in normal and hyperglycemic glucose solutions with averages being 5.26 × 10(-17) m(2) and 5.80 × 10(-17) m(2), respectively, which resembles 2-4% agarose gels. A prototype design is presented for continuous intravascular glucose monitoring by attaching a glucose sensor to an FDA-approved stent.