Glucose-Responsive Polymer Offers Hope to Diabetics

Investigators at Leicester School of Pharmacy at De Montfort University in the UK are working on a new in vivo closed-loop insulin delivery technology. At the heart of the project is a covalently bonded glucose-responsive gel material, polymerized from dextran and concanavalin A, and modified with acrylic side groups. The interesting property of this polymer is its ability to undergo a viscoelastic transformation in the presence of free glucose. So, the material, when impregnated with insulin, can be made to release controlled doses of the hormone in response to blood glucose levels. Dr. Joan Taylor and colleagues at De Montfort are already working on an implantable device that uses this patented gel that might eliminate the need for daily insulin injections. For now, everything is on paper and in the lab, so we will have to follow this group’s efforts in the future to see what pans out of this project.
Abstracts: Glucose-responsive UV polymerised dextran-concanavalin A acrylic derivatised mixtures for closed-loop insulin delivery Biomaterials Volume 27, Issue 8, March 2006, Pages 1586-1597;
UV Cross-Linked Dextran Methacrylate–Concanavalin A Methacrylamide Gel Materials for Self-Regulated Insulin Delivery Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy 2008, Vol. 34, No. 1 : Pages 73-82
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