Sputtering Targets Are Helping Fight Diabetes. #1 in a Series.

When people ask what we do for a living, the short answer is, “We make precious metal sputtering targets.” But what we do every day in our factory in Rio Rancho, New Mexico has far-reaching effects for people around the world. Most people don’t realize that sputtering targets, and the people who design and manufacture them, are vitally important in the fight against diabetes.

Sputtering targets and the development of glucose test strips.

Blood glucose meters and test strips are indispensable for managing diabetes - and sputtering targets are essential in manufacturing glucose test strips.

Blood glucose meters were first developed for doctors’ offices in 1965. By 1980 these meters and the glucose test strips necessary to use them had become compact, accurate and so easy to operate that they were made available directly to people with diabetes for home use.

For people with diabetes, using a glucose meter is a familiar process. What may be less familiar is the vacuum coating technology that is embedded in each test strip. It might seem like magic, but it’s actually an elegant scientific process. People with diabetes put a glucose test strip in a slot in the meter, prick their finger, draw a drop of blood and transfer it to the edge of the test strip.

Each lot of test strips is made from a single batch of chemical mixture that’s used to generate an electrical signal from glucose. Electrons from the glucose travel through a circuit or “network of wires” from the sample area to the glucose meter. The meter counts the electrons as current and calculates how much glucose it took to generate that level of electricity. This “network of wires” is most often created with an innovative sputter coating process that deposits one or more thin films of precious metals on the test strip. They might be designed with up to five different layers, that often include a thin film of gold that helps conduct the current.

One small test strip for diabetics, a giant leap for diabetes care.

These tiny, thin layers of precious metal have had an enormous impact on the health and well-being of people with diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control has concluded that self-monitoring blood sugar three times a day is one of the most effective ways of preventing complications in people living with diabetes.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in 2019, 37.3 million Americans or 11.3% of the population, had diabetes. 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year and 96 million Americans age 18 and older had prediabetes.

We are doing more than manufacturing custom pieces of precious metal. We are helping create a better world.

The science behind test strips may be hard to understand. But their impact on the healthcare system is clear. Vacuum coating plays an essential role in manufacturing glucose test strips, helping millions of people with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar and live healthier, more productive lives.