Promoting health and reducing costs: a role for reform of self-monitoring of blood glucose provision within the National Health Service

Fluorescent Enzymatic Sensor Based Glucose Oxidase Modified Bovine Serum Albumin-Gold Nanoclusters for Detection of Glucose

An enzymatic fluorescent probe is developed for the selective detection of glucose. In this work, a Bovine Serum Albumin stabilized gold nanocluster (BSA-AuNCs) was synthesized by microwave assisted method, and it is modified with glucose oxidase, thereby a fluorescent enzymatic sensor (BSA-AuNCs@GoX) was designed for the sensitive detection of glucose with a limit of detection of 0.03 mM. The red fluorescence exhibited by the probe is quenched by the production of H2O2 on addition of glucose via. a static quenching mechanism from UV visible absorption and Fluorescence lifetime results. The developed probe exhibits good selectivity and sensitivity with other coexisting molecular species such as glycine, creatinine, methionine, histidine, uric acid, albumin, and ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc etc. that appear in the body fluid. The practical applicability was studied in paper strip and extended its reproducibility in biological matrixes such as human serum and urine and found a good recovery percentage of 94-101 %. By this way, we have fabricated an effective fluorescent enzymatic "turn-off" sensing probe for the detection of glucose.

How Satisfied Are Patients When Their Choice of Funded Glucose Meter Is Restricted to a Single Brand?

BACKGROUND

Many governments and insurers are driving down the cost of medical devices, including glucose meters, by the central management of purchasing decisions. We report patients' responses to an "enforced" change in brand of glucose meter, one year after the introduction of a national sole supplier arrangement for funded glucose meters and strips.

METHOD

Specialist diabetes clinic attendees from two geographical locations completed a questionnaire one year after the final meter changeover date. In the first location, consecutive patients were asked to complete a glucose meter satisfaction questionnaire during their clinic visit. In the second location, this questionnaire was mailed to clinic attendees. Responses to open questions were analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

Response rates were 85% and 31% from the first and second locations, respectively and 378 questionnaires were suitable for analysis, 309 from the first and 69 from the second location. Insulin users composed 90% of participants. Results from the two locations were broadly similar. Most participants adapted well to the changeover, however 36% reported ongoing dissatisfaction with their "new" meter. The commonest concern, expressed by 23% of participants, related to meter accuracy and precision.

CONCLUSIONS

One year after glucose meter changeover, a third of participants expressed dissatisfaction with their meter, with many participants describing a failure to adapt to the sole supplier arrangement. Providing a choice of meters and strips, ideally from two or more brands that have demonstrable differences in technical and ergonomic features, is likely to produce higher overall patient satisfaction than is a sole supplier arrangement.