Patent ID: 6927246

Claim:
A polymer composition comprising a fluorescent boronic acid of the general formula: wherein: F is a fluorophore; N is a nitrogen atom; B is a boron atom; R 1 is selected from the functional group consisting of hydrogen, aliphatic and aromatic groups, wherein the functional group (R 1 O) 2 B is capable of binding glucose; R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are optional and independent hydrogen, aliphatic or aromatic groups, further functionalized aliphatic or aromatic groups or groups that are capable of forming a covalent linkage to the polymer matrix, wherein the polymerized matrix is a polystyrene or a polyvinylalcohol; L 1 and L 2 ate optional linking groups having from zero to four atoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorous; and wherein the polymer composition futher includes a reference fluorophore; and wherein the fluorescent boronic acid and the reference fluorophore are covalently coupled to the polymer matrix after polymerization; and further wherein: the polymer composition including the covalently coupled reference fluorophore and the covalently coupled fluorescent boronic acid is soluble in an aqueous environment; and the fluorescence of the polymer composition including the covalently coupled reference fluorophore and the covalently coupled fluorescent boronic acid increases in the presence of bound glucose.