Sponsored by The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

Join fellow SWE members and guests for an overview of how researchers at The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory are working to improve the lives of diabetics and cardiac patients. Draper has developed several types of nanosensors aimed at measuring ion and small molecule concentrations in the intracellular and extracellular environment. These nanosensors are composed of a variety of chemistries contained in a fluorescent, plasticized-polymer bead. The beads are produced in house in minutes, and can easily be modified to change the concentration range and detectable analytes. Currently, Heather’s group focuses on two applications: intracellular sodium dynamics in cardiac cells and a nanosensor “tattoo” for monitoring glucose levels in diabetics.

Diabetes mellitus refers to the group of diseases in which the body suffers from a diminished production of or resistance to insulin, which regulates the storage of glucose as glycogen in the liver and muscles. In order to avoid elevated blood sugar levels and serious health complications, diabetic patients must periodically monitor their glycemic levels throughout each day via a technique that is unfortunately both painful and inconvenient. In an attempt to address these issues, Draper has designed fluorescence-based nanosensors that successfully monitor glucose in vitro as well as in vivo. Glucose levels are efficiently detected in the hypo- and hyperglycemic range, and chemical interferents, which are problematic for commercially available enzyme-based systems, do not affect the response. The optical nanosensors offer continuous analysis of glycemic levels in vivo through a minimally invasive process and provide a beneficial alternative to traditional methods for diabetics to measure blood sugar concentration.

RSVP by September 15, 2009 via Acteva

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