Continuous detection of glucose concentration by fluorescent indicator

Abstract

Continuous glucose detection has a great significance for diabetics. On the one hand, it can fully reflect the patient blood glucose change level. On the other hand, it can better guide the insulin dosage, and achieve closed-loop control of insulin pump. A continuous detection method of glucose concentration by borate polymer fluorescent indicator is proposed in the paper. The principle of this method is based on the competing reaction between alizarin, glucose and borate polymer. The borate polymer has high specific reaction with glucose, meanwhile reacts with non fluorescent alizarin. The product of the reaction between borate polymer and alizarin is fluorescent, called as fluorescent indicator. When glucose was introduced, the glucose molecules could react with the borate polymer in fluorescent indicator because of the high specificity. This competing process leads to the decomposition of fluorescent indicator into the non-fluorescent alizarin, and the fluorescent intensity gets loss. Therefore, the change of fluorescent intensity can reflect the glucose concentration level. In this method, the fluorescent indicator can well identify the glucose molecules. According to the experiment, we know that there is a high specific and good linear reaction between glucose and borate polymer. The linear fitting is up to 0.97 and the detection limitation can reach to 10 mg/dL. The fluorescent intensity reaches strongest with the optimal proportion of alizarin: borate polymer as 1:3. The reaction of the fluorescent indicator identifying glucose molecules has a good linear relationship, the linear fitting of which can reach to 0.98. The detection limitation can reach to 30 mg/dL, which fulfills the detection requirements of glucose concentration in vivo.