Confined stimuli-responsive polymer gel in inverse opal polymer membrane for colorimetric glucose sensor.

We developed a totally synthetic colorimetric glucose-sensing system that is composed of glucose-responsive hydrogel particles confined in an inverse opal polymer membrane. This system exhibits structural color on the basis of Bragg diffraction arising from the 3-D ordered structure with periodicity on the order of the wavelength of visible light. The volume of the hydrogel particles reversibly changes as the glucose concentration varies in the separated pores of the inverse opal polymer membrane; this system reveals a reversible change in the color appearance and the peak intensity of the reflection spectra with the variation in the glucose concentration. By careful design of the system, we can detect the important range of glucose concentration around the threshold value for diagnosing diabetes mellitus by using the colorimetric glucose-sensing system.