Brain glucose: voltammetric determination in normal and hyperglycaemic rats using a glucose microsensor.

Pulsed voltammetry applied to glucose oxidase-coated carbon fibre electrodes (glucose sensor) was used for brain glucose determination in normal and streptozotocin-treated rats (experimental diabetes mellitus). Glucose levels increased in the frontal cortex of diabetic animals compared with the controls (+262%). Glucose levels were also increased in their CSF (+48%) and plasma (+64%), determined in ex vivo conditions. The validity of the glucose sensor determinations, as well as that of the experimental model of diabetes used, was checked using the Beckman glucose analyser and a radioimmunoassay for plasma insulin. Insulin, unlike glucose, was decreased in diabetic animals. The sensor described here ensures precise determinations and is suitable for use in experimental models where alterations in glucose metabolism occur.