Aspects of nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy in the noninvasive determination of glucose

Diabetes is a chronic disease of the metabolic system with serious health and social implications. Research in noninvasive methods to measure blood glucose levels is ongoing as a means to improve the monitoring techniques necessary for the management of this disease.In this dissertation the technique of nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy (NLDS) is evaluated as a noninvasive method in measuring glucose levels. NLDS injects a low frequency probing current into a sample, and obtains meaningful information through the analysis of system nonlinearity. A suspension of the yeast S. cerevisiae is used in the experimental NLDS work, and metabolically active and quiescent yeast states are considered, as well as the electrolyte medium. Experimental time-course spectral data are presented. Electrode polarization artifacts are examined as masking the biological signal of interest. An empirical model is fitted to the experimental data at discrete points over time as a method to compensate for artifacts.