Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Fluorescent Enzymatic Smart Tattoos Comprising Hybrid Silicate Microparticles, Metalloporphyrin Complexes, And Mass Transport-Limiting Nanofilms, Erich Wayne Stein

Doctoral Dissertations

Diabetics are often required to self-monitor blood glucose levels to effectively deliver prescribed therapies. However, the pain and bother associated with traditional finger-prick measurements often result in decreased patient compliance and therefore poor disease management, which could result in the early-onset of complications. Enzymatic "smart tattoos"—implantable luminescent particles that may be transdermally interrogated with light—are being pursued as minimally-invasive diabetic monitoring devices, with hopes of increasing diabetic compliance by reducing excessive pain and bother associated with finger-prick measurements. These devices typically comprise an oxygen-quenched luminescent dye and glucose oxidase (GOx), an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of β-D-glucose. Under glucose-limited …