Researchers receive grant to develop color-changing contacts for diabetics
Contact lenses that act as a glucose monitoring system for diabetics aren't exactly a new idea, but it looks like a group of researchers from the University of Western Ontario might be a bit closer to making them a reality, as they've now received a $200,000+ grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to further develop the technology. The secret to their contacts are some "extremely small" nanoparticles that are embedded in the hydrogel lenses which, like some similar systems (such as those pictured at below), react to the glucose molecules in tears and cause a chemical reaction that changes the color of the lenses -- thereby informing the wearer when their blood sugar is too low or too high. What's more, the reseachers say the same basic idea could also have a wide range of other applications beyond glucose monitoring -- for instance, being used in food packaging to indicate if the food is spoiled or contaminated.
Nanocomposites could change diabetes treatment
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Diabetics may soon be able to wear contact lenses that continuously alert them to variations in their glucose levels by changing colours - replacing the need to routinely draw blood throughout the day.
The non-invasive technology, developed by Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Jin Zhang at The University of Western Ontario, uses extremely small nanoparticles embedded into the hydrogel lenses. These engineered nanoparticles react with glucose molecules found in tears, causing a chemical reaction that changes their colour.
Zhang received $216,342 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) today (Dec. 16) to further develop technologies using multifunctional nanocomposites.
These technologies have vast potential applications beyond biomedical devices, including for food packaging. For example, nanocomposite films can prevent food spoilage by preventing oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture from reaching fresh meats and other foods, or by measuring pathogenic contamination; others can make packaging increasingly biodegradable.
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