FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/18/08
Contact: Barry Freidly '69, interim director of media relations, 717-361-1495, freidlyb@etown.edu
“Smart” Polymer Detects Glucose and Lactate
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – With diagnoses of diabetes mellitus on the rise, the rapid and sensitive measurement of blood glucose levels continues to be an area of medically-significant scientific research. Also of interest to those in the field of sports medicine is measurement of a compound called L-lactate, which provides an indication of a muscle’s readiness for peak athletic performance.
In the analytical chemistry research laboratory at Elizabethtown College, student researchers and their faculty mentor are working to develop “smart” polymers that respond to varying amounts of each of these compounds of interest by either swelling or contracting. As the polymer swells or contracts in response to glucose or lactate, there is a concomitant change in color of a luminescent marker that has been embedded in the polymer. These “glow in the dark” sensors are expected to exhibit excellent sensitivity and a rapid response, even when used for real time monitoring in vivo.
Current contributors to the research project under the mentorship of Dr. Kristi Kneas are sophomore Matthew Myers (Pennsburg, PA) and senior Christopher Strulson (Yardley, PA), both of whom are majors in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Matt and Chris have plans to attend graduate school in chemistry and view their research experience at E-town not only as a springboard to graduate school and their future careers, but also as a means by which they already are able to contribute to research that is medically relevant.
Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, Elizabethtown College offers its 1900 students more than 50 academic programs in the liberal arts, sciences and professional studies. Driven by its motto to “Educate for Service,” Elizabethtown centers learning in strong relationships, links classroom instruction with experiential learning, emphasizes international and cross-cultural perspectives and nurtures the capacity for lives of purpose.
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