Author(s): Bryson Anderson
Mentor(s): Lars Laurentius
Institution U of U
Smart hydrogels, known for their biocompatibility and responsiveness to environmental changes, hold significant promise for biomedical sensor applications, particularly in glucose monitoring for diabetes management. Traditional glucose monitoring methods, such as fingerstick tests, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and implantable sensors, each have limitations, including discomfort, high cost, social stigma, and invasiveness. Our research addresses some of these challenges by focusing on the development and optimization of an injectable glucose-sensitive hydrogel strand that is invisible and monitored remotely using medical ultrasound. By creating a minimally invasive injectable hydrogel sensing element that naturally degrades in the body over time, our project aims to deliver a reliable, cost-effective alternative for glucose monitoring that is suitable for point-of-care applications. The primary objective of this current study is to enhance the glucose response characteristics of our hydrogel strands through structural optimization. Specifically, we investigate how pore size, distribution, and hydrogel thickness influence the speed and sensitivity of glucose-induced swelling, with the goal of achieving an optimized response time of around 15–20 minutes. To achieve our aims, we utilize photomasks in combination with molds to fabricate hydrogel strands with and without porosity to compare response behavior. To assess these hydrogel strands, we employ an optical imaging system coupled with a microfluidic channel, where hydrogel strands are fixed at both ends, allowing real-time observation of swelling behavior (exhibited has strand buckling) upon glucose exposure. The setup incorporates automated flow control and imaging for simultaneous observation of our hydrogel strands, enabling efficient evaluation. Preliminary results indicate that porous hydrogel structures exhibit faster response times compared to non-porous strands, highlighting the potential of structural modifications in optimizing hydrogel performance. These results will aid in the development of injectable strands for in vivo applications using medical ultrasound as readout. Here, swelling changes are monitored by micro-mechanical resonance induced by the ultrasound waves, providing a remote, non-invasive, and near real-time assessment of glucose levels for clinical applications of glucose monitoring. In summary, our project demonstrates a promising strategy for improving hydrogel-based glucose sensors, with implications for continuous glucose monitoring solutions. Through structural modifications to our hydrogel, we seek to optimize the glucose response of our hydrogel with future hopes of producing injectable smart hydrogels capable of fast response times and high sensitivity, potentially benefiting diabetic patients who require continuous and minimally invasive glucose tracking with a near invisible monitoring solution.