Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Molecular recognition of sugars and a practical method to detect and discriminate among a large number of such similar analytes remain substantial scientific challenges. We report here a low-cost, simple colorimetric sensor array capable of identification and quantification of sugars and related compounds. Fifteen different monosaccharides, disaccharides, and artificial sweeteners were differentiated without error in 80 trials. Limits of detection at pH 7.4 for glucose were <1 mM, which is below physiologically important levels.