The GlucoWatch biographer is a device developed by Cygnus, Inc. which provides automatic, continual, and non-invasive glucose measurements for diabetics. Glucose is extracted through the skin via electro-osmosis and measured with an amperometric biosensor. Because of the small amount of glucose extracted the biosensor must achieve a much lower detection limit than conventional finger-stab glucose monitors. A high signal-to-noise ratio is especially important for accurate measurement at hypoglycemic glucose levels. This proposal focuses on the formulation of a screen printing ink for fabrication of high-performance biosensor electrodes. This ink will replicate the electrocatalytic surface determined in Phase I that optimizes and the signal-to-noise ratio by improving both the sensitivity to H2O2 and the background current. The ink is formulated from a platinum-carbon composite with a thermoplastic binder. Formulation variables to be explored will include platinum catalyst particle morphology, particle size, particle pretreatment, loading level in the ink, and ink mixing and processing parameters. Following optimization of the ink via bench top testing, biosensors using this material will be incorporated into the GlucoWatch biographer and tested on human subjects. This high-performance ink will enable enhanced product features for future generations of GlucoWatch biographer devices.
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