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Thursday, 30th March 2006 (6310 views)

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have used gold nanoparticles to detect low levels of glucose using human tears.

The new non-invasive technology is able to tell when glucose levels drop below the expected amount, even in healthy people, which may help to identify individuals who could be at risk of becoming diabetic.

Tears are used because the glucose concentration contained in this fluid is known to correlate with the concentration in the bloodstream.

Chemistry professor Florencio Hernandez, who leads the research team, said: "The idea is to use this method to determine glucose concentrations at very early stages."

"You can actually detect potential diabetic problems before diabetes becomes a problem," he added.

Professor Hernandez said that the test they were using was based on Tollen's silver mirror test for aldehydes, which uses a chloroauric acid rather than the gluconic acid used to detect mercury.

He added that he hoped to drive the sensitivity of the test lower so that it can be used to monitor even smaller changes in glucose levels than it currently does.

The problem now is working out what method to use to make the patient cry…

 

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