Enzymatic vs. Non-Enzymatic Sensor Chemistry

The chemistry of diabetic test strips is defined by the method used to transduce glucose concentration into electrical current. The market is currently dominated by Enzymatic Sensors, which have evolved from Glucose Oxidase (GOx) to Glucose Dehydrogenase (GDH) chemistries.

While GOx is highly specific, it historically suffered from the "Oxygen Effect," where blood oxygen levels skewed readings. The industry largely shifted to GDH to solve this, but early GDH-PQQ iterations caused fatal errors by cross-reacting with maltose (common in dialysis patients). Today, GDH-FAD and GDH-NAD are the industry gold standards, offering oxygen independence and high specificity without maltose interference.

Non-Enzymatic Sensors represent the research frontier, utilizing noble metals (Gold, Platinum) and nanomaterials to oxidize glucose directly. While these offer superior stability and lower manufacturing costs compared to fragile enzymes, they currently lack the selectivity required for clinical use, as they struggle to distinguish glucose from other electroactive blood components like uric acid.