Numerical simulation of a glucose sensitive composite membrane closed-loop insulin delivery system

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Closed-loop insulin delivery systems regulate blood glucose via pH modulation.
• Gluconic acid production from glucose influences insulin release across membranes.
• Modeling these systems involves complex non-linear, non-steady state reaction-diffusion equations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a simplified numerical approach for modeling species diffusion.
• To apply the finite difference and differential quadrature (DQ) method.
• To analyze time and position-dependent diffusivity in reaction-diffusion systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the finite difference and differential quadrature (DQ) method.
• Developed a numerical approach for reaction-diffusion equations.
• Compared results with analytical methods.

Main Results:

• The DQ method provided results comparable to analytical solutions.
• Membrane thickness impacts glucose, oxygen, and gluconic acid concentrations.
• DQ method parameters remained constant, simplifying analysis.

Conclusions:

• The DQ method offers an efficient approach for modeling complex reaction-diffusion systems.
• This simplified modeling is valuable for diabetes management systems.
• Applicable to other systems governed by similar non-linear, non-steady state equations.