Miles Inc.

Frederick E Ward, Deceased

James P Albarella

J Oakey Noell

Paul O Vogelhut

Electrically conducting homo- and/or copolymers and/or tripolymers can be produced from novel monomers, such as a 3-substituted 2,5-di(2-thienyl)pyrrole. The polymers exhibit unexpectedly high stability and conductivities, and can be functionalized, such as with an enzyme, like glucose oxidase, or an ion-specific binding site, like a crown ether, or an antigen, without adversely affecting the conductivity of the polymer. The functionalized, conducting polymer can be used in a diagnostic device to determine the presence and concentration of a specific analyte in a liquid medium. For example, the presence and concentration of glucose is determined by measuring the conductivity change in the polymer caused by the vibrational excitation induced in the enzyme, glucose oxidase, from its reaction with the glucose and/or by measuring a secondary effect of the enzyme/substrate reaction, such as the change in the conductivity of the conducting polymer caused by the generation of hydrogen peroxide during the glucose-glucose oxidase reaction.

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Elkhart, IN, United States of America

Frederick E Ward, Deceased