Introduction: History of Glucose Monitoring

Abstract

Attempts to quantify glucose in the urine date back to the mid-1800s and laid the foundation for modern diabetes care. The most important development in the commercialization of urine glucose testing came in 1908, when Benedict developed a copper reagent for urine glucose, which was used, with some modifications, for more than 50 years (1). The cumbersome methodology of heating became more convenient in 1945 with the development of Clinitest (Ames, Elkhart, IN), which featured a modified copper reagent tablet. Glucose was oxidized, and the amount of glycosuria was proportional to the color of the heated solution.