GlycoGum: An Affordable Noninvasive Rapid Diabetes
Diagnostic Gum
Charlie Chandsawangbhuwana
PhD Candidate
Department of Bioengineering
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0435
Jonathan Kuo
PhD Candidate
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Southern California
1042 Downey Way
Los Angeles, CA 90089-1111
Abstract
A novel diagnostic tool is proposed that
vastly improves the screening test for
diabetes. This design consists of a
chewing gum that changes color based
on whether the patient is healthy, pre-
diabetic, or diabetic. This diagnostic
tool will be:
(1) easy to use, only requiring the
patient to chew a piece of gum;
(2) quick, giving a diagnostic after only
a minute of chewing;
(3) affordable, requiring no specialized
equipment for testing.
Figure 1: Design use; the patient is diagnosed
depending on the color of the gum.
Introduction
Afflicting over 180 million people
worldwide, diabetes is a chronic disease
that is caused by a lack of insulin
production or an ineffective use of
insulin1. Over time, if left untreated,
severed consequences may occur such
as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic
neuropathy, limb amputation, kidney
failure, heart disease, and stroke1. It is
estimated that there are more than 5
million people in the US alone who have
diabetes and are unaware of it2.
The traditional method of diabetes
screening is a standard blood test. This
is typically done after the physician has
determined that the patient is at risk for
diabetes. However, this will miss
diabetics who for financial or other
reasons do not go see a physician. Also,
for healthcare in developing countries
there is no guarantee that the patient
will be able to do a blood test due to the
lack of testing equipment. A chewing
gum that serves as a diagnostic tool will
address these issues by being
affordable and easy to use. Most
importantly, the avoidance of drawing
blood and the accompanying pain will
increase the acceptance of diabetic
screening amongst patients. The
affordability and ability to do self-testing
at home much like pregnancy kits will
allow those who have family histories of
diabetes to vigilantly monitor their status
without the need to schedule an
appointment with a doctor.
Consequently, the advantages of early
detection of diabetes will be fully
realized and the potential damage to the
body from uncontrolled diabetes will be
avoided.

Design
A design is proposed that will easily
diagnose diabetes to treat the disease
at an early stage before having it fully
develop its adverse consequences.
This design will consist of four main
components:
(1) Glucose Oxidase (GOx) – This
enzyme will be the primary glucose
sensor which will reduce oxygen into
hydrogen peroxide proportional to
the glucose detected
(2) Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) –
This enzyme will be biochemically
conjugated to the GOx. The
hydrogen peroxide produced by the
GOx will be used by the HRP to act
onto a color changing substrate.
(3) 3,3’,5,5’-Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB)
– This chemical will be the substrate
for the HRP and change color from
white to blue proportional to the
activity of HRP
(4) Gum base – A butadiene derived
polymer matrix will provide structure
where the GOx, HRP, and TMB will
be immobilized.
Based off of the intensity in color of the
chewed gum, an estimate of the salivary
glucose level can be determined and the
patient will be informed of being healthy,
pre-diabetic, or diabetic. If the patient
were diagnosed as pre-diabetic or
diabetic, a doctor’s visit would be
Figure 2: Overview of the detection design
suggested to obtain treatment for
diabetes.
This design will easily diagnose and
inform patients whether they have
diabetes or not without the need to wait
until they have developed the symptoms
associated with diabetes. It has the
potential to dramatically improve
healthcare for those without regular
access to doctors, people living in
developing countries, and people who
do not recognize the symptoms of
diabetes.
Conclusions
The goal of this diagnostic tool would be
to improve the welfare of patients by
painlessly and quickly informing them
early if they have diabetes so they can
seek appropriate healthcare early and
so avoid the complications associated
with untreated diabetes.
References
1
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312
/en/index.html
2
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/DM/PUBS/statistics
/#allages