A new nanogel developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could be a game-changer for diabetes patients, with the potential to dramatically reduce the frequency of blood-sugar checks and insulin injections, researchers told the Herald.
The goal of the as-yet unnamed injectable gel, which has a texture similar to toothpaste, is to create a “reservoir of insulin” in the body that only becomes available when needed, said Daniel Anderson, an MIT associate professor of chemical engineering.
“Developing drug delivery systems that can provide insulin at levels required by the body really do have tremendous game-changing potential,” Anderson said. “Even the most vigilant diabetics have real trouble keeping their blood sugar in the perfectly healthy range using conventional methods and that has implications for long-term health.”
Researchers said a single injection of the gel, which has insulin in it, maintained normal blood-sugar levels in mice with Type 1 diabetes for an average of 10 days.
“In that sense you wouldn’t need to give an injection that frequently,” said Robert Langer, a biomedical engineer at MIT.
Nanoparticles in the biodegradable gel contain spheres of a modified long carbohydrate molecule called dextran, which are loaded with an enzyme that converts glucose into gluconic acid. Insulin is released in the body as the dextran spheres disintegrate.
“What still needs to be optimized is the rate of release. Ideally you want that insulin to come out immediately when it’s needed. You don’t want it to delay,” Anderson said. “Similarly, when sugar is low, you want it to turn off quickly. The response time needs to be very fast.”
Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said that if the gel’s longevity and efficacy are proven in future tests, it could take a “significant market share” of the more than $20 billion global insulin market.
“Most insulin you need (to inject) at least once a day,” Conover said. “If it has that duration of dosing, that’d be a significant achievement.”