A scientific team comprising chemists, pharmacists, and polymer experts from the United States and China have innovated a "smart" insulin dose for treating patients with diabetes. This dose has successfully regulated blood sugar levels for periods up to a week after administration during tests conducted on experimental mice and pigs.
Polymers are long chains of molecules formed by combining smaller molecules known as monomers, which typically contain carbon and other elements.
Type 1 diabetes is known to result from a deficiency in the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas into the blood, requiring a specific dietary regime and regular insulin doses for treatment. Many people with diabetes inject themselves with insulin daily, but over time, they encounter issues due to skin hardening from frequent injections.
According to a study published in the scientific journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, the research team from Zhejiang University in China and the University of North Carolina in the US created an insulin dose that can interact with certain elements within the human body. This allows for the maintenance of the insulin at required levels in the blood over an extended period.
Natural Capsule
The research team explained that the new insulin dose contains acids and chemical additives that react with substances in the blood. The insulin is retained inside a natural polymer capsule and is naturally secreted according to the blood glucose levels.
Researchers found that after administration of the smart dose, insulin is automatically released into the bloodstream as needed, for instance, after completing a meal.
The findings are considered promising for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. Researchers, according to the medical research website "Medical Xpress," plan to continue testing the smart insulin dose on experimental animals and will advance to human trials if the positive outcomes persist.
