Unfortunately, millions of people live with diabetes, and for them insulin is an important life-saving drug. Unlike other drugs, this hormone cannot be given with just a pill, it must be injected subcutaneously with a syringe or pump. now, however, A great breakthrough is much closer.
In fact, some Chinese researchers Southern Medical University Guangzhou has taken important steps in this direction. making an insulin tablet and as reported on its pages ACS Nanopowered by chemical “micromotors” and using just one oral pill, they were able to deliver the important hormone in the colon of several mice.
Given the importance of a life-saving drug like insulin, the oral form would be really ideal For millions of patients In fact, let’s remember how diabetics are often. have to take it several times a day, with frequent injections that can be painful and certainly frustrating. In addition, some do not take the recommended dose on time due to the difficulty of administration.
Sorry (for now) using insulin tablets is not effective at all, because the hostile environment of the stomach breaks down and neutralizes the hormone before it is absorbed through the intestines and enters the bloodstream. In fact, previous attempts at oral administration have protected the hormone from stomach acids. micro- or nano carrierbut not very efficient.
To overcome this problem, researchers Yingfeng Tu, Fei Peng, Kun Liu and other colleagues proposed a better approach. actively moving the drug through the bodyand use with robo-capsule It can carry the load up to the thick mucus layer of the small intestine.
To make these “micromotor” tablets, the researchers coated magnesium microparticles with a layer of insulin-containing solution and a layer of liposomes. They then mixed everything with sodium bicarbonate, pressed it, and coated it with an esterified starch solution. protect pills from stomach acidIt allows them to reach the column intact.
Initial results were quite satisfactory. Indeed, tablets can significantly reduce blood sugar levels In mice for more than five hours, thus maintaining a level almost as low as insulin given by injection.
According to the researchers, this is a big, particularly tangible step towards creating more oral drug formulations traditionally for injection-only.
Speaking of fighting diabetes, do you know that a new way to produce insulin has been discovered recently?
Source: Every Eye