Smartphone Biochip Using Silica Nanoparticles for Glucose Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blood glucose meters are cumbersome, difficult to manufacture, and challenging to carry due to their complex structure and large size, requiring frequent enzyme sensor replacements and lacking user-friendly real-time measurement capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A biochip with a simple configuration for measuring blood glucose levels using a CMOS image sensor on a smartphone, featuring a substrate with a blood glucose inflow region, a reaction region with silica nanoparticles and a reaction reagent, and a porous separator, allowing for quantitative real-time measurement via a smartphone application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional blood glucose meters use enzyme sensors, then blood glucose measurement is achieved, but the device becomes cumbersome and requires frequent sensor replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable test strips with pre-loaded reagents and silica nanoparticles that are discarded after a single use. This eliminates the need for expensive, complex enzyme sensors that require frequent replacement, while maintaining measurement accuracy through the stable, single-use design of the test strip system.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the complex enzyme sensor system from the blood glucose meter and replaces it with a simplified test strip containing silica nanoparticles and reagents. This separation allows the main device to remain simple and reusable, while the consumable test strip handles the measurement function without requiring complex components.
2Reliability
If conventional blood glucose meters use complex structures, then measurement function is achieved, but manufacturing difficulty and device size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blood glucose measurement system is segmented into a reusable main device and a disposable test strip. The test strip contains the measurement reagents and silica nanoparticles, while the main device only houses the optical detection system. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing of both components and reduces overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical enzyme-based sensing systems with an optical detection system using silica nanoparticles and colorimetric reagents. The measurement is achieved through optical property changes (color intensity) rather than complex mechanical or electrical enzyme sensors, significantly simplifying the device structure and manufacturing.
3Volume of moving object
If conventional blood glucose meters are designed for portability, then device size is reduced, but measurement accuracy and reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The test strip design is self-contained with pre-loaded reagents, silica nanoparticles, and reaction chambers. The strip itself performs the measurement function without requiring complex external instrumentation, allowing high precision in a compact form factor that fits within a smartphone-sized device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables convenient, real-time measurement of blood glucose levels anywhere, anytime, using a compact and easy-to-carry biochip integrated with a smartphone's CMOS image sensor, providing accurate and reliable glucose monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
quantitatively measure blood glucose levels based on changes in color intensity depending on the reaction between blood glucose and a reaction reagent
Implementation Method 2
a porous separator disposed on the blood glucose inflow region to face the surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 3
silica nanoparticles and a reaction reagent distributed on the reaction region of the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a biochip for measuring blood glucose levels and a blood glucose meter for a smartphone including the same. The biochip for measuring blood glucose levels includes: a substrate, one surface of which is provided with a blood glucose inflow region into which blood glucose flows and with a reaction region that is connected to the blood glucose inflow region and has a recess formed therein, a porous separator disposed on the blood glucose inflow region to face the surface of the substrate, and silica nanoparticles and a reaction reagent distributed on the reaction region of the substrate. Thereby, blood glucose levels can be measured using such a biochip, which is easy to carry, together with a CMOS image sensor, and particularly, blood glucose levels can be simply measured using a CMOS image sensor provided to a smartphone, and blood glucose levels can be quantitatively measured and checked using a blood glucose meter application installed on a smartphone.