Classical assays for determining blood and urine glucose have limited value for the monitoring of an individuals blood glucose level over time. Measurement of glycated hemoglobin (GHb) is already gaining acceptance for management of persons with diabetes mellitus. GHb levels are not only useful for diagnosis but also for the establishment of care goals and for care reinforcement. In the future more physicians will use GHb measurements for the routine management of diabetes which will require test methodologies to be more reliable and cost effective. To this end we propose to develop a semiautomated instrument for measurement of GHb which will reduce human and mechanical error. The heart of the instrument is an affinity support which will possess sufficient ligand side chains and have excellent flow properties. The development of this affinity support is the objective of phase one.
