ESPEYB17 10. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (1) (14 abstracts)
To read the full abstract: Nat Biomed Eng. 2020 May;4(5):499506. doi: 10.1038/s41551-019-0508-y.
Glucose-responsive insulin delivery systems that mimic pancreatic endocrine function could enhance health and improve quality of life for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with reduced β-cell function. However, insulin delivery systems with rapid in vivo glucose-responsive behaviour typically have limited insulin-loading capacities and cannot be manufactured easily. A single removable transdermal patch, bearing microneedles that had been loaded with insulin and a non-degradable glucose-responsive polymeric matrix, were manufactured by in situ photopolymerization. The device was shown to regulate blood glucose in insulin-deficient diabetic mice and minipigs (for minipigs >25 kg, glucose regulation lasted >20 h with patches of ˜5 cm2).
Under hyperglycaemic conditions, phenylboronic acid units within the polymeric matrix reversibly form glucose-boronate complexes that - owing to their increased negative charge - induce swelling of the polymeric matrix and weaken the electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged insulin and polymers, promoting the rapid release of insulin. This proof-of-concept study may aid the development of other translational stimuli-responsive microneedle patches for drug delivery.