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An Injectable PEG-BSA-Coumarin-GOx Hydrogel for Fluorescence Turn-on Glucose Detection

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology volume 177, pages 1115–1126 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder, requiring vigilant monitoring of blood glucose levels. In this study, an injectable fluorescent enzymatic hydrogel was designed for rapid glucose detection. The leakage-free glucose-responsive hydrogel was constructed by the covalent linkage of a multi-arm poly-(ethylene glycol) (PEG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), glucose oxidase (GOx), and 4-(aminomethyl)-6,7-dimethoxycoumarin (Coumarin-NH2). The GOx serves as glucose-recognition element and the pH-sensitive Coumarin-NH2 as a fluorescence turn-on reporter. The material properties of the fluorescent hydrogel were systematically characterized which show high elasticity with good mechanical strength. Upon the addition of glucose, the as-developed fluorescent hydrogel shows a fast response time, good sensitivity, and good reproducibility at physiological pH and ambient temperature. The glucose-sensing mechanism is based on the oxidation of the glucose by GOx that generates protons to change the local pH. Consequently, protonation of the covalently immobilized and pH-sensitive Coumarin-NH2 turns on the fluorescence of the coumarin. The fluorescence hydrogel developed holds great promise as an injectable, implantable glucose-sensing biomaterials for in vivo continuous glucose monitoring.

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Acknowledgments

The authors greatly appreciate the financial support from NSF, UConn Teaching Assistantship, and NSF GK-12 Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Gayathri Srinivasan, Jun Chen & Yu Lei

  2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Joseph Parisi & Yu Lei

  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Christian Brückner & Xudong Yao

  4. Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Xudong Yao

Authors
  1. Gayathri Srinivasan
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  2. Jun Chen
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  3. Joseph Parisi
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  4. Christian Brückner
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  5. Xudong Yao
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  6. Yu Lei
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Correspondence to Yu Lei.

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Gayathri Srinivasan and Jun Chen contributed equally to this work.

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Srinivasan, G., Chen, J., Parisi, J. et al. An Injectable PEG-BSA-Coumarin-GOx Hydrogel for Fluorescence Turn-on Glucose Detection. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 177, 1115–1126 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1800-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-015-1800-2

Keywords

  • Fluorescence
  • Hydrogel
  • Glucose
  • Glucose oxidase
  • Glucose sensing
  • Switch-on fluorescent chemosensors