Research based on the use of nanotechnology has made way for the development of highly efficient sensors for measuring blood glucose in diabetic patients.
Nanotechnology uses particles the size of a nanometer (one-billionth of a meter), which are comparable in size to animal or plant proteins. Scientists successfully implanted a gold nanoparticle with a diameter of 1.2 nanometers into the enzyme glucose oxidase.
Glucose oxidase acts as an insulator when binding to a conductive surface such as an electrode. However, when the gold nanoparticle is put into the enzyme, the gold acts as an electrical "plug," facilitating the flow of electrons to the attached electrode and the oxidation of the glucose by the enzyme. The magnitude of the current reveals the extent of glucose in the system.
According to experimental results, this "nanoplug" technology offers a more specific measure of glucose in the blood than is available with existing techniques.
Researchers believe that enzyme electrodes could be used not only to sense glucose levels for diabetic patients, but also to enable production of electrical energy from blood sugar to operate heart pacemakers, insulin pumps or prosthetic components.
Science March 21, 2003;299(5614):1877-81
Unfortunately, there are over 1 million type 1, insulin-dependent diabetics in the United States. For them traditional medicine is a lifesaver. The technology has allowed them to replace the function of the beta cells of their pancreas.
However, we should remember that it is modern technology, with its access to processed foods, that largely contributed to the autoimmune dysfunction that caused the disease in the first place (for the most comprehensive overview of how and why, I encourage you to read Chapter 2 in my new book, The No-Grain Diet, called "The Biochemistry of Weight Loss.")
However, after the horse is out of the barn and you can’t produce any insulin, there really is little choice but to fully embrace technology and hope for the best solution.
An artificial pancreas would consist of two parts, a device to administer insulin and an implantable sensor. We have had insulin pumps for some time now, however the sensor has remained very tricky.
There are currently external sensors that can measure blood sugar non-invasively, but they are very expensive and don’t do real time constant monitoring.
Nanotechnology appears to be a promising solution for finally bringing this product to market.
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