The effect of temperature on permittivity measurements of aqueous solutions of glucose for the development of non-invasive glucose sensors based on electromagnetic waves

This article presents for the first time an empirical study that shows the importance of considering temperature when analyzing the permittivity (dielectric constant) of aqueous glucose solutions of various concentrations. The permittivity is a parameter that is investigated by researchers as a biomarker for non-invasive measurement of glucose without drawing blood. The development of this technology will allow personalized healthcare diagnostics to monitor and prevent diabetes. Since human glucose levels in the blood vary in the range of a few milligrams per decilitre, estimating such small variations of glucose will require a highly accurate and repeatable sensing technology. Electromagnetic (EM) waves, specifically in the microwave and terahertz frequency ranges, have shown promise in detecting changes in the electrical properties of blood plasma as they relate to glucose concentration. However, it's important to note that while this technology shows promise, it is still in the research and development phase. It is shown here that the body temperature can affect the accuracy of the blood glucose measurements. Experiments were conducted with different glucose concentration solutions under various temperatures and the complex permittivity of the glucose was studied across a wide frequency range from 400 MHz to 11 GHz. The rise in thermal energy normally causes dipolar liquids like water to vibrate and rotate disrupting the alignment of the dipoles in response to an electric field thereby reducing its permittivity. Empirical results however show that for aqueous solution of glucose the permittivity increases with rise in temperature from 16 °C to 37 °C. This is attributed to the polar nature of the water and glucose molecules that becomes more pronounced with increased thermal energy. Based on the experimental results an accurate analytical expression is derived that considers the temperature of the aqueous glucose solution. The accuracy of the analytical expression is shown experimentally to be above 99%. The findings from the study should enable the design of accurate non-invasive glucose monitoring devices based on electromagnetic sensing techniques.