Login or Subscribe Newsletter. Injectable nanoparticles developed at MIT may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. The nanoparticles were designed to sense glucose levels in the body and respond by secreting the appropriate amount of insulin, thereby replacing the function of pancreatic islet cells, which are destroyed in patients with Type 1 diabetes.
Anderson is the senior author of a paper describing the new system in a recent issue nano bot blood glucose monitoring system the journal ACS Nano. The research nano bot blood glucose monitoring system also includes Robert Langer, the David H.
Currently, people with Type 1 diabetes typically prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing their blood-sugar levels. When levels are high, these patients inject themselves with insulin, which breaks down the excess sugar.
One approach uses hydrogels to measure and react to glucose levels, but those gels are slow to respond or lack mechanical strength, allowing insulin to leak out.
The MIT team set out to create a sturdy, biocompatible system that would respond more quickly to changes in glucose levels and would be easy to administer. Their system consists of an injectable gel-like structure with a texture similar to toothpaste, says Gu, who is now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and molecular pharmaceutics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
The gel contains a mixture of oppositely charged nanoparticles that nano bot blood glucose monitoring system each other, keeping the gel intact and preventing the nano bot blood glucose monitoring system from drifting away once inside the body. Using a modified polysaccharide known as dextran, the researchers designed the gel to be sensitive to acidity. Each nanoparticle contains spheres of dextran loaded with an enzyme that converts glucose into gluconic acid. Glucose can diffuse freely through nano bot blood glucose monitoring system gel, so when sugar levels are high, the enzyme produces large quantities of gluconic acid, making the local environment slightly more acidic.
That acidic environment causes the dextran spheres to disintegrate, releasing insulin. Insulin then performs its normal function, converting the nano bot blood glucose monitoring system in the bloodstream into glycogen, which is absorbed into the liver for storage.
In tests with mice that have Type 1 diabetes, the researchers found that a single injection of the gel maintained normal blood-sugar levels for an average of 10 days.
Because the particles are mostly composed of polysaccharides, they are biocompatible and eventually degrade in the body. The researchers are now trying to modify the particles so they can respond to changes in glucose levels faster, at the speed of pancreas islet cells. The research was funded by the Leona M. My question on the nanotechnology to help with diabetes treatment is, how would it affect LOW blood sugars.
I'm a type 1 diabetic and understood that normally sugar is released by the liver in association with low blood sugars, but not in diabetics. With the nanotechnology treatment, I'm not sure how that part of the equation is addressed. How can I volunteer for trails on humans? On a serious level of interest when human trails are in motion what would it take? What will we eat in the year ? CitySprouts receives MIT Federal Credit Union grant Cognitive scientists define critical period for learning language Ushering in the next phase of exoplanet discovery Empowering refugees worldwide by providing tools for social change Computation counts Virtual drug trials boost results Prize-winning projects promote healthier eating, smarter crop investments.
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Using data science to improve public policy Helping Mexico design an effective climate policy Clearing the air Clearing the Old Smoke. Mimicking the pancreas Currently, people with Type 1 diabetes typically prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing their blood-sugar levels. Long-term control In tests with mice that have Type 1 diabetes, the researchers found that a single injection of the gel maintained normal blood-sugar levels for an average of 10 days.
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