These capsules containing nano-carriers with insulin will be tested on humans in 2025. Credit: Nicholas Hunt
Key points:
- Researchers made oral insulin delivery to the liver possible by coating nano-carriers to protect against stomach acid and digestive enzymes.
- When blood sugar is high, liver enzymes become active and break down the nano-carrier coating—meaning insulin is only released when needed.
- Once approved for use in humans, the new method would have many benefits including decreased risk of low blood sugar events, controlled release of insulin, fewer side effects, discreet administration, and no need for refrigeration.
Researchers have developed a new way to supply the body with insulin that does not require syringes or insulin pumps. A new study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, demonstrates the potential of delivering insulin via nano-carriers.
Scientists discovered the technique of delivering medicine to the liver via nano-carriers many years ago, but early attempts to use oral nanotherapeutics for diabetes resulted in insulin breaking down in the stomach and not reaching where it was needed in the body.
Now, by creating a coating that protects against stomach acid and digestive enzymes, the research team has made oral insulin delivery possible. When blood sugar is high, liver enzymes become active and break down the nano-carrier coating—meaning insulin is only released in the liver and enters the blood stream when needed.
“This means that when blood sugar is high, there is a rapid release of insulin,” explained co-lead author Nicholas Hunt of the University of Sydney. “Even more importantly, when blood sugar is low, no insulin is released.”
The new practical and patient friendly method would reduce the risk of a low blood sugar event such as hypoglycemia. The controlled release of insulin would be tailored to a patients’ needs rather than released all at once like an insulin injection. Other benefits of the nano-carrier method include fewer side effects, discreet administration, and no need for refrigeration.
To date, researchers have tested the oral insulin on nematodes, mice, rats, and baboons. In mice and rats with diabetes, the oral insulin prevented low blood sugar events, weight gain, and fat accumulation in the liver. Additionally, the 20 healthy baboons that received oral insulin incorporated into sugar-free chocolate had lowered blood sugar.
Clinical trials in humans will start in 2025, and the researchers hope the new nano-carrier insulin will be ready for use in the following two to three years.