7Glukometer GKM 01

Being able to determine the concentration of glucose in liquids is crucial for research, as described above for polarimeters, and for clinical purposes such as diagnosing diabetes. The Glukometer GKM 01, exhibited here, was the first commercially available device for analysis based on a biosensor. It was developed here on the Campus Berlin-Buch.

In 1970 Frieder Scheller, an electrochemist, was appointed to a position at the Central Institute for Molecular Biology (ZIM) of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR in Berlin-Buch. Here he worked on enzymes and biosensor research. In 1980, Scheller‘s research group launched the Glukometer GKM 01 on the European market. This device permitted determining the concentration of glucose in liquids quickly and accurately. It was therefore soon used in practices and clinics to record glucose concentrations in blood and urine samples from patients.

The Glukometer GKM 01 had a special feature, a completely new principle for making measurements. Scheller used an enzyme electrode as the biosensor. The samples were brought to body temperature, 37°C, in a water bath. The glucose in the samples was oxidized enzymatically, producing hydrogen peroxide. This could be measured electrochemically. This principle and the device are the results of research carried out on the Campus Berlin-Buch. The Glukometer GKM 01 is proof that basic research can indirectly lead to practical applications. The device exhibited here is now technologically outdated. Modern devices are significantly smaller, but are still based on the same principle.