And, for bonus points, how are they made?
These seem like an awfully important test piece. I’m pretty sure they’re just checking for glucose with some enzyme or something. But who knows, maybe its something simple or everyday? Are all brands using the same materials?
Looking at the bottle my test strips are in, they contain: flavin adenine dinucleotide dependent dehydrogenase (from Aspergillus sp.); potassium ferricyanide; and other ingredients.
blood interacts with the chemicals on the test strip, the reaction creates a measurable electrical charge which changes depending on the glucose level in the blood. The meter reads the level of that electrical charge and converts it to a blood glucose reading in understandable numbers.
I believe most strips use glucose oxidase, an enzyme that produces gluconic acid from the glucose in the blood. But I haven’t researched new test strip tech in years.
I don’t think the strips themselves do anything but hold your blood for the actual tester you put them in.
I’m pretty sure the test strips strips probably do most of the testing, and the meter just reads the result.