| dc.description.abstract | A need exists for the development of a continuous glucose monitoring system to improve the management and treatment of diabetes mellitus. Click hydrogels are a promising platform for an implantable, continuous glucose monitoring system because of their ease of fabrication, highly specific chemistry, tunable properties, and ability to incorporate sensing moieties. Recent research has demonstrated the ability to monitor glucose levels by immobilizing glucose sensing enzymes, specifically glucose oxidase (GOx), within a hydrogel network. When coupled with an oxygen sensitive phosphorescent dye, glucose levels can be quantified optically when interrogated with light. To advance this technology, this project builds on previous work in our lab that demonstrated the ability to create protein functionalized hydrogel microparticles utilizing sequential click reactions. By harnessing this powerful chemistry, the GOx enzyme can be modified with a tetrazine group in aqueous solution and then subsequently added in 8, 4, 2, 1, and 0.5 mg/mL GOx concentrations to hydrogel microparticles. This work will seek to demonstrate the ability of click hydrogel microparticles to serve as a promising chemo-optical glucose-sensing platform for continuous glucose level monitoring. | en |
