In de toekomst is het wellicht mogelijk om met een tatoeage de suikerspiegel in het lichaam te meten.
Het MIT is bezig met onderzoek naar nanotubes. Deze zeer kleine buisjes kunnen in de huid worden ingebracht. Door de buisjes te coaten met een glucosegevoelige copolymeer, welke reageert op glucose in het lichaam kan je een tatoeage maken die aangeeft hoe hoog je suikerspiegel is. Met een apparaatje ter grootte van een polshorloge – dat over de tatoeage gedragen wordt – is vervolgens de glucosespiegel af te lezen. Deze manier van meten zou nauwkeuriger en minder belastend zijn dan de vingerprikmethode. (Tip via Medlog)

(MIT-news) 

The technology behind the MIT sensor, described in a December 2009 issue of ACS Nano, is fundamentally different from existing sensors, says Strano. The sensor is based on carbon nanotubes wrapped in a polymer that is sensitive to glucose concentrations. When this sensor encounters glucose, the nanotubes fluoresce, which can be detected by shining near-infrared light on them. Measuring the amount of fluorescence reveals the concentration of glucose.

The researchers plan to create an “ink” of these nanoparticles suspended in a saline solution that could be injected under the skin like a tattoo. The “tattoo” would last for a specified length of time, probably six months, before needing to be refreshed.

To get glucose readings, the patient would wear a monitor that shines near-infrared light on the tattoo and detects the resulting fluorescence. One advantage of this type of sensor is that, unlike some fluorescent molecules, carbon nanotubes aren’t destroyed by light exposure. “You can shine the light as long as you want, and the intensity won’t change,” says Barone. Because of this, the sensor can give continuous readings.

Development of the nanoparticles and the wearable monitor is being funded by MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.

Barone and Strano are now working to improve the accuracy of their sensor. Any glucose monitor must pass a test known as the Clarke Error Grid, the gold standard for glucose-sensor accuracy. The test, which compares sensor results to results from a lab-based glucose meter, needs to be very stringent, since mistakes in glucose detection can be fatal.

De ontwikkeling staat nog in de kinderschoenen: tests op dieren moeten nog uitgevoerd worden. Het zal nog jaren duren voordat deze ontwikkeling bij mensen kan worden toegepast