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Smart 'tattoo' could be warning
device for diabetics
Scientists are developing a smart 'tattoo' to warn diabetics when their glucose levels are low. The device is made of florescent molecules which glow when glucose levels in the body are low. It has been designed by researchers at Texas A&M University and Penn State Chemical Engineering. Chemistry & Industry reports tests on rats that have been given injections of glucose have proved promising. Researchers say once the device is perfected, diabetics will be able to monitor their glucose and get a readout of flourescence levels using a watch. Unlike normal tattoos, which consist of ink particles taken up by skin cells, the molecules are injected under the skin and stay in fluid. Designer Gerard Cote said: "This is important because the level of glucose in the interstitial fluid is directly related to blood glucose - whereas glucose inside the cells would be nearly none existent because it's almost immediately converted to energy." He adds the arm or abdomen would be the best place to inject the tattoo to avoid exposure of the flourescent molecules to the sun.
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